A new, contentious report from Success Academy contends that more than 400,000 NYC public-school students are in 906 schools where fewer than half meet state standards in math or reading, signaling widespread underperformance across almost half of the district’s schools.

The report, titled By Any Honest Measure, estimates about 409,379 students (roughly 43% of NYC’s student body) attend failing schools and argues this has persisted for decades.

It notes NYC spent about $40 billion on public education in 2024, or about $36,293 per pupil, and contrasts this with a national average of $17,619, urging scrutiny of funding, policy commitments like class-size limits, and resource use in vacant buildings.

In response, NYSED says it must meet schools where they are and points to improved data accessibility, while acknowledging gaps from the 2020-2021 pandemic years.

The report’s recommendations call for incentives for excellence, tying evaluations to outcomes, ending social promotion and grade inflation, reducing waste, and restoring a genuine culture of learning, arguing honesty in measurement is the core issue, not just money.

Success Academy’s leadership asserts strong internal metrics (about 96% math and 92% ELA proficiency in grades 3–8) and says their comprehensive citywide data review underpins their comparisons.

The article also notes differences in benchmarking and acknowledges Success Academy’s high proficiency rates, highlighting the broader debate over citywide performance and resource allocation.

NYC officials respond by emphasizing ongoing efforts to improve reading and math across demographics, defending current funding decisions, and pointing to universal pre-kindergarten as a key prep initiative.

State data for 2024-2025 show improvements, with 57% of grades 3–8 proficiency in math and 53% in ELA, a figure critics say does not fully align with the Success Academy findings.

NYSED’s latest results are cited to illustrate progress, even as the debate continues over how to interpret gains amid varying data contexts.

Observers note flaws in teacher evaluations, a focus on race in parent surveys, and concerns about transparency in data reporting from state and city education departments.

The piece sits within a broader debate about how resources, accountability, and policy choices affect outcomes across NYC’s diverse neighborhoods.