MEASURING THE QUALITY OF NYC SCHOOLS PMI Westchester Quality SIG March 10, 2015 Richard Ferricane, PMP

NYC Schools ( FY 2014 data; source NYC Mayor’s Management Report) 1. Chancellor: Carmen Farina a. Former teacher, principal, and Deputy Chancellor (2004 – 2006) 2. 1,000,000+ students a. English Language Learners (ELLs): 154,000 b. Special Education Students: 250, ,800 schools 4. 75,000 teachers 5. Average daily attendance: a. 93.2% (grades 1 – 8) b. 87.8% (HS) 6. Grades 1- 9 promotion rate: 94.7% 7. HS graduation rate: 68.4% 2

DOE Services and Goals 1. Educate New York City’s children. a. Improve academic achievement. b. Promote parental involvement in education. 2. Support children with special needs. a. Improve the ability of English Language Learners to learn English and improve academic progress. b. Improve the ability of students with disabilities to progress academically and socially. 3. Prepare children to become productive, engaged adults. a. Increase the percentage of high school graduates enrolling in postsecondary education or training. b. Increase the percentage of elementary, middle and high school students taking coursework that prepares them for future success. 4. Maintain and enhance the City’s educational facilities. a. Work with School Construction Authority to design, construct, modernize and repair durable, functional and attractive educational facilities, on schedule and within budget. 3

Measuring the Quality of a School How school quality is measured and communicated was changed significantly under the de Blasio – Farina administration. This discussion focuses on the changes to measuring the quality of a school, specifically: Changes in underlying philosophy Changes in quality measurements 4

Why the changes? 1. De Blasio frequently criticized his predecessor’s (Michael Bloomberg) emphasis on test scores. 2. Revamping school evaluations was a prominent campaign pledge during deBlasio’s campaign for mayor. 3. The major complaints about the Bloomberg School Progress Report from parents and educators were: a. The single-letter score was too simplistic and didn’t accurately portray the many facets of the state of the school. b. Scores for individual schools fluctuated widely for no apparent reason. 5

What changed? The new school evaluations under Chancellor Farina: 1. De-emphasize test scores in favor of measures such as: Strength of the curriculum School environment 2. Eliminate single, overall “A” through “F” ratings. Under the Bloomberg administration, 85% of the overall letter grade was based on test scores. These Progress Reports were used since Make school quality data easier for parents to understand. 4. The Bloomberg era Progress Report (8 pp) was replaced with the de Blasio era: School Quality Snapshot (target audience: parents; 3 pp) School Quality Guide (target audience: education leaders; 16 – 18 pp) [See handouts.] 6

Handouts We’re Looking At 1. School Progress Report(Bloomberg administration) 2. School Quality Snapshot(de Blasio) 3. School Quality Guide(de Blasio) 4. NYC School Survey(de Blasio, Bloomberg) 7

Discussion 1. General impressions about these quality reports. 2. If you were a NYC parent, which one would you prefer? School Quality Guide or … Progress Report ? 3. What lessons are there here for project managers? 8

Thank you! 9