The New York City Department of Education (DOE) manages the NYC public school system. Mayor Michael Bloomberg appointed Dennis Walcott as the Schools Chancellor to lead the NYC DOE in 2011. The NYC DOE is a large and complex organization that serves many functions. The NYC DOE’s collection, management, and distribution of data are particularly relevant to educational research. The NYC DOE website provides an immense amount of publicly available school and district level data via their website. The NYC DOE’s division of Student Performance and Accountability offers many data-based resources, including comprehensive annual school reports with information about student and teacher characteristics, test results, as well as graduation and dropout rates.
Doing research in New York City Public Schools
The NYC DOE allows outside researchers to conduct studies within its system provided that the research does not compromise the privacy of students and parents, or disrupt the work of students, teachers, and administrators. The NYC DOE requires prospective researchers to prepare a formal proposal for review and approval by the NYC DOE Institutional Review Board (IRB). NYC DOE IRB will determine whether the proposed study meets the professional standards for the treatment of human subjects, research design, ethical practices, and has significance and relevance for the NYC public school system. For more information visit the DOE data accountability webpage.
Publicly available data in New York City Schools
Attendance and enrollment
Information and data are available on enrollment, attendance and registration. Registration and Attendance data are available from 1995 onward. The available data includes summary statistics as well as more detailed data at the district level.
Class Size
Class Size data are available at the citywide, borough, district and school levels. School level data shows class size averages by program type and course. Click here for more information.
Graduation and Dropout Reports
The NYC DOE adopted the State of New York’s graduation calculation method in 2005. Graduation and dropout data are available beginning with the students who were scheduled to graduate in 2005. These data are available at the school, district, and city levels and include counts and percentages for cohort enrollment, graduates, dropouts, and students still enrolled. More detailed data including disaggregation by student subgroups (e.g., general education, special education, English language learners) and diploma type are available for some years.
The NYC DOE also prepares longitudinal graduation and dropout reports using its traditional calculation. These calculations define inclusion in a cohort and graduation outcomes differently than the New York State method. These reports, which include historical results, are included for those interested in examining longer-term trends. Click here for more information.
Achievement Results: English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics
Results from citywide math and English language arts (ELA) tests are available for students in Grades 3 through 8. The results are available by borough, district, school, and grade, starting with 2006. The data files include the number of students tested, the average scale score, and the number and percent of students in each of the four proficiency levels. Click here for more information.
School Surveys
Since 2007, parents, students, and teachers from over 1600 NYC schools have shared their perceptions about their schools in the annual School Survey. It is the largest survey of its kind, with over 900,000 participants in 2010. Survey questions explore issues relating to academic expectations, communication, engagement, and safety and respect. Survey data and reports from 2007 onward are publically accessible. Click here for more information.
Progress Reports
Beginning in the 2006-07 school year, the NYC DOE issued Progress Reports, which assign each school a letter grade (A, B, C, or F) based on their performance on three indicators:
- School Environment constitutes 15% of a school's overall score. It is based on results from the School Surveys and student attendance.
- Student Performance constitutes 25% of a school's overall score. Student performance is based on such indicators as diplomas earned and graduation rates (for high schools) and statewide test scores for elementary and middle schools.
- Student Progress constitutes the remaining 60% of a school's overall score. This component of the report is based on progress for credits accumulated, Regents completion and pass rates (for high schools), and statewide test results (for elementary and middle schools).
Data is available for each school in the city from the 2006-07 school year onward. The data sets include measures for each component of the Progress Report and the citywide and peer benchmarks used for comparison across schools. Click here for more information.
School-Based Expenditure Reports
Under the Division of Financial Planning and Management, the NYC DOE provides detailed reports on school-based expenditures. These reports include information on school spending, broken out into several broad categories and subcategories. The broad categories are Direct Services to Schools, Regional Costs, System-Wide Costs, System-Wide Obligations and Pass Through. Reports and data sets are available from the 1999-2000 school year onward. Click here for more information.
Other DOE Offices of Interest
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