New York’s State Highlights

Summary of Grades

New York performs at or above average in three of the four graded policy categories in Quality Counts.

New York ranks second in the nation in the standards and accountability category. The state earns full credit for policies related to both its academic standards and its assessments. New York’s standards in the four core subjects have been rated as clear, specific, and grounded in content at all grade spans by the American Federation of Teachers. And the state’s assessments for those subjects and grade spans are aligned with its standards.

Although above average, the state posts a less-stellar score for teacher quality. New York earns full credit for its efforts to hold schools and teacher education programs accountable for teacher quality. But the state does not require veteran teachers to undergo performance assessments to qualify for a more advanced level of certification.

In school climate, New York lags behind the nation as a whole. Although the state does well on indicators for school facilities and class size, it fares more poorly on school size and does not have a law to enforce specific penalties for incidents of school violence.

The state scores near the average in resource equity. Its wealth-neutrality score, for example, indicates that the state’s wealthier districts tend to have higher per-pupil funding levels than its poorer districts.

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.