New York City Charter School Students Continue to Outperform District Counterparts

New York City Charter School Students Continue to Outperform District Counterparts

Full NYSED Data Shows NYC Charter School Students Attained Proficiency At Double-Digit Higher Rates In Both ELA And Math

New York, NY – This week, the New York State Education Department released to the public the full results of the Spring 2025 English Language Arts (ELA) and Math assessments. Continuing a decades-long trend, the results show a substantial gulf in proficiency rates between charter schools and their district counterparts in both subjects. The New York City Charter School Center’s interactive presentation offers various approaches to analyzing the data.

Fast Facts:

• 67.5% of charter school students scored proficient on the NYS ELA exam, compared to 56.3% of district school students – an 11.2 percentage point difference.
• 68.6% of charter school students scored proficient on the NYS Math exam, compared to 56.9% of district school students – an 11.7 percentage point difference.
• On the ELA exam, over 70% of charter schools (167) had higher percentages of students scoring proficient than the overall average NYC Public Schools.
• On the Math exam, over 64% of charter schools (152) had higher percentages of students scoring proficient than the overall average NYC Public Schools.
• When broken down further, the data shows Black and Hispanic charter school students (who account for 90% of charter school students) outperforming their NYCPS peers in Math by startling amounts, 25.7 and 22.6 percentage points, respectively.
• Charter school students with disabilities achieved proficiency at higher rates as well (compared to their NYCPS counterparts): 16.1 percentage points higher in ELA and 18.4 percentage points higher in math as compared to their district school counterparts.

“The proof is in the numbers – charter schools are one of the single greatest interventions in K-12 education,” said James Merriman, Chief Executive Officer of the New York City Charter School Center. “When the charter movement began decades ago, many believed that the gaps in achievement we were seeing would narrow as the sector grew – but the latest data proves that this is far from true, and charter students continue to excel. Families are seeing these results and shifting the dynamics of public education in our city, with more than 15% of New York City’s public school students now attending a charter school.”

By the Numbers:

For more information on New York City’s public charter schools and how to apply, please visit www.charterNYC.org.