Recently, the latest state reading scores of public schools in New York City plummeted by 6 percentage points, causing a stir in the education sector. However, two major charter schools have delivered impressive performance reports. Data shows that students in charter schools have a pass rate in math and reading that is 35 to 40 percentage points higher than that of traditional public schools.
The largest charter school network in New York City, “Success Academy,” released data showing that their students in grades 3 to 8 who participated in state exams achieved a math pass rate as high as 96% and an English reading pass rate of 91%. In comparison, the reading pass rate in traditional public schools in New York City is only around 50%, with a math pass rate of 57%.
Moreover, within the Success Academy network, 12 campuses achieved a 100% pass rate in both math and reading. At Success Academy Bronx 4 in the Soundview community, all 195 students who took the exams passed, with 100% of students scoring “mastery” (Level 4) in math and 96% achieving “mastery” in reading.
It is worth noting that the majority of students at Success Academy come from low-income families, with 72% receiving free or reduced-price lunches, 13% being English language learners from immigrant families, and 10% being special education students. Minority groups (42% Black, 36% Hispanic) make up the vast majority of the student population.
Another large charter school network, “Zeta Charter Schools,” with 14 campuses under its umbrella, also showed excellent performance, with 92% of students meeting math standards and 86% meeting reading standards.
Facing mutual accusations and questioning of the effectiveness of state exams from public school education officials and the teachers’ union (UFT) due to the decline in scores, charter school principals and founders provided markedly different answers.
Success Academy’s curriculum standards far exceed the basic requirements of the state of New York. Students receive intensive reading training from kindergarten and are required to read chapter books by the second grade, with a guaranteed 1 hour of focused reading every day. The approach to math instruction focuses on problem-solving logic and computational thinking instead of rote memorization. Excuses are not tolerated.
Nadienka Morillo, principal of Success Academy Bronx 4, told the New York Post, “We don’t make excuses… our students are capable and rise to the challenge.”
Eva Moskowitz, founder and CEO of Success Academy, believes that this success is not only a victory for educators and children but also a harsh wake-up call to the leadership that has already compromised with failure and only seeks excuses.
Moskowitz has long criticized New York state politicians and the education system for limiting the number of charter schools and urges the city government to address the shortcomings of traditional public schools.