Mayor Bill de Blasio and Schools Chancellor Richard A. Carranza released the announced that a record-high 48,782 students in the Class of 2018 enrolled in college, up approximately 8,000 students since the start of the administration and approximately 3,600 students compared to the year prior. College enrollment is at its highest ever – 62 percent of New York City’s Class of 2018 (students entering 9th grade in Fall 2014) enrolled in a two- or four-year college, vocational program, or public service program after graduation, up 3 percentage points from the previous year and up 11 percentage points from the Class of 2013.
“Our schools launch our kids to successful futures, and now more students than ever are enrolled in college and taking another step toward fulfilling their potential. We are making sure our students know college isn’t just for a select few and that zip code no longer determines who gets to go,” said Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“The numbers are in and the results are clear: in New York City, more students are enrolling in college and on a path to success. Our schools are assisting at every turn by building college and career-ready cultures, eliminating barriers such as application fees, and helping students directly apply. This is Equity and Excellence in action, and I’m so proud of students, educators and families,” said Chancellor Richard A. Carranza.
The Equity and Excellence for All agenda has improved outcomes for students year after year, ensuring every high school has resources for students to graduate with a college and career plan and every middle school is providing students with early exposure to college campuses and school-based events promoting the pursuit of higher education. Measures of college readiness for the Class of 2018 also improved – 51 percent of all students in the Class of 2018 graduated college ready, defined as graduating high school on time and meeting CUNY’s standards for college readiness in English and Math. The graduation rate for the Class of 2018 reached a record-high of 75.9 percent.
Through College Access for All, more students are completing key milestones and directly applying to college: they are visiting a college campus with their high school, taking the SAT, applying to college, applying for financial aid, and enrolling in college and postsecondary programs. The initiative has also removed financial obstacles for students. In the Class of 2018, 44,944 students redeemed fee waivers through CUNY, allowing them to apply for free. That same school year, 80 percent of juniors participated in SAT school day, taking the exam in school free of charge.
As a result, more students are enrolling in programs at CUNY, SUNY, New York State private colleges and out of state colleges. In addition to increases in college enrollment and college readiness, the 2018-19 School Quality Reports, released today, give families a clear, concise picture of the quality of each school, and the School Quality Guide provides more detailed information intended for schools to use to inform their planning efforts.
The School Quality Reports are available on the DOE and individual school websites Executive Superintendents and Superintendents are able to use data and information from the Reports to make informed decisions about which targeted supports will be most useful to schools.
The School Quality Snapshot is available as a searchable web-based and mobile-ready tool, so families can easily search for schools and information, including from their phones. The tool is available in more than 100 languages through Google Translate, and has screen-reader compatibility making it more accessible for individuals with disabilities.
School Quality Report data is also included on the School Performance Dashboard, an interactive data tool that shows data for each school over time. The School Quality Reports were updated in 2015 to align to the Framework for Great Schools, the DOE’s research-based approach to school improvement, and continue to be refined based on feedback from school leaders and communities as well as analysis conducted internally and by external researchers. Schools with strong 2018 Framework ratings were nine times more likely to substantially improve student achievement in 2019, demonstrating that schools with a focus on improving the elements of the Framework are more likely to see improvement in student achievement.
Mayor de Blasio’s Equity and Excellence for All initiatives are promoting increased college readiness and access to postsecondary options across all five boroughs. This specifically includes the College Access for All, AP for All, Algebra for All, and Single Shepherd initiatives.
Together, the Equity and Excellence for All initiatives are building a pathway to success in college and careers for all students. Our schools are starting earlier – free, full-day, high-quality education for three-year-olds and four-year-olds through 3-K for All and Pre-K for All. They are strengthening foundational skills and instruction earlier – Universal Literacy so that every student is reading on grade level by the end of 2nd grade; and Algebra for All to improve elementary- and middle-school math instruction and ensure that all 8th graders have access to algebra. They are offering students more challenging, hands-on, college and career-aligned coursework – Computer Science for All brings 21st-century computer science instruction to every school, and AP for All will give all high school students access to at least five Advanced Placement courses. Along the way, they are giving students and families additional support through College Access for All, Single Shepherd, and investment in Community Schools. Efforts to create more diverse and inclusive classrooms, including Equity & Excellence for All: Diversity in New York City Public Schools are central to this pathway.
More information about the School Quality Reports, including reports for individual schools, training materials, and a link to the School Performance Dashboard, is available online.
“Higher education is a gateway to higher incomes, fulfilling careers, and the numerous tangible and intangible ways for students to be empowered and access social mobility. I commend Mayor de Blasio, Chancellor Carranza, and all the educators and students who have helped achieve this year’s record-high levels of college enrollment in New York City. While much remains to be done to tackle the lack of quality education as a main contributor to the systemic inequalities many of our youth and communities are up against, initiatives like the Equity and Excellence for All and the a College for All agendas play an important role in breaking down those barriers, righting historic wrongs, and opening meaningful, life-changing opportunities for our students,” said Senator Luis Sepulveda.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
Of course the number of NYC public school students going to college will increase, because the number of students in public schools goes up every year. The real indicator of improvement would be to show the percentage of students by borough going to college.
Poor Bronx State Senator Luis Sepulveda who does not care that Bronx students in his own district (and borough) are performing much lower than students in all of the four other boroughs.
When asked in August 2018 standing in a school in State Senator Luis Sepulveda's district why the public school children in Sepulveda's district and the Bronx as a whole were not performing to the level of the four other boroughs, Chancellor Carranza said "the mayor and he know that Bronx children are not performing up to the level they should be."
Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza came up with a plan to pay teachers $7,200 more, but the mayor was endorsed by the teachers union, and the so called Bronx Plan includes schools in Brooklyn and Queens, while Bronx schools still lag behind in performance.
