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The Network for Public Education recently issued a 50-state report card on the relative condition of the country’s public education system. New York didn’t rank as failing, but close: it got a “D.” 

But to be fair, the politics of teacher-bashing and union-busting have earned their desired results.

The NPE report evaluated each state on six basic criteria, which were selected based on research-based evidence of what clearly helps students succeed academically. And consideration was given to the influence that laws, policies, and practices have on state education.

For instance, New York’s investment in high-stakes testing earned it a D in the testing category due to an over-reliance on tests to determine graduation rates, student promotion, and professional evaluations. Some evaluations use a tactic referred to as Value Added Measurement to arrive at professional evaluations, even though there is no scientific evidence to suggest they are credible, the report says

New York also received a D because it embraces privatization and doesn’t have strong oversight of charter schools. 

Although New York earned a B for providing adequate financial support to its schools, it earned a C for not using those funds effectively, such as for lowering classroom size.

Vermont and Massachusetts are doing better than New York, and Mississippi and Texas are among the lowest ranking states, each earning an F.

Education historian Diane Ravitch heads up NPE and wrote the introduction to the report card. Her anti-charter school position may turn some people off. But how much more evidence do we need before we can accept that over-reliance on testing is not good practice, and ignoring the obvious, like smaller classroom sizes, has consequences?

This article appears in Feb 3-9, 2016.

I was born and raised in the Rochester area, but I lived in California and Florida before returning home about 12 years ago. I'm a vegetarian and live with my husband and our three pugs. I cover education,...

4 replies on “New York earns a D for its K-12 public school system”

  1. Please shut down common core, let teachers teach…please stop saying everyone needs to go to college..offer alternative education….hands on learning…the trades…
    get in the face of Central Office..the place is overloaded with dead weight…change will never be allowed to happen…there is too much power in that office…certain parents and their kids do not value education so stop forcing it..it is a privilege to go to school and learn…stop trying to make kids learn by force and inspire them to learn by letting inspired teachers teach.

  2. I don’t know of any parents or parent that bashes teachers. On the other hand the union has earned its reputation. (not the teachers, the union) The head of the RCSD teachers union promised a long time ago that salaries, low salaries, were the cause of, or result of, poor student performance. While teachers deserve every cent, especially in the urban setting, that premise was bull crap. That leader of the union has been enriching himself for decades. Had he produced results,…no problem. The fact is he has not.

    The urban setting suffers from the fact that the students do not “play” on a level field. Once you level the playing field you WILL see better, much better, results. The urban kids have just as much to offer as the suburban kids. You need to connect with them differently. Educational enhancement is what is needed. That enhancement needs to parallel their academics so that can realize the value of those boring subjects. The goal is to keep them in school , focused, interested and wowed with interesting demonstrations that show them the value and purpose of those boring subjects.

    And YES,….ABSOLUTELY,…bring back the Edison Tech of old! You know that RCSD gem. The school that was gutted by the district and destroyed. Students didn’t do that, administrators did that, period. That school provided relevant education. That school provided the academics AND a trade. That school graduated over 90% with a 90% job placement. THAT is what nips poverty in the butt.

    The experts won’t listen though, they know better. Or is it that they make a good buck off the misery of poverty? Does that statement make you mad! Good, that means I’m getting through.

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