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More New York City students who are graduating high school are college-ready, according to what will likely be the last round of letter grades awarded to city schools.
The Bloomberg administration announced on Wednesday the seventh annual progress reports, which award letter grades to schools based on students’ performance and attendance, as well as surveys of parents, students and teachers.
Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio has said he would abolish the letter-grading system, saying it is not a strong indicator of how schools are performing.
According to this year’s results:
- 442 schools received an A
- 576 received a B
- 459 received a C
- 102 received a D
- 45 received an F
Overall, charter schools received more A’s and B’s than public schools. A small number of schools were not given grades because they were affected by Hurricane Sandy.
The reports also showed an increase of 3 points in the four-year college readiness rate, from 28.6 percent in 2012 to 31.4 percent in 2013. Since 2005, the percent of students graduating college ready in four years has nearly doubled, according to the city’s department of education.
“The most important job of our schools is ensuring students are on track to succeed in college and their careers,” said Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott. “These results are further evidence that the hard work of our teachers and principals is paying off.”
In past years, the city’s education department has used the reports to identify failing schools and move to close them. No schools are under threat of closure this year because of the upcoming transition to the new mayoral administration.
