N.Y.C. Wins Award for Strides in Student Achievement

Washington

The third time proved the charm for the New York City school system, which last week won the prestigious Broad Prize for Urban Education for the progress of its improvement efforts after being a finalist the past two years.

While federal and city officials and members of Congress praised the nation’s largest school district for its accomplishments at a Sept. 18 press conference here, some in the city questioned how a district in which about half of students drop out of high school and where test-score gains recently have slowed could be held up as a positive example of urban school reform.

During the high-profile event surrounding the announcement, however, the successes of New York and the four runners-up...