The city\u2019s largest charter school dropped nearly 200 places in statewide rankings \u2013 all because state bureaucrats blocked the release of advanced placement scores in the ratings, a new lawsuit claimed.<\/p>\n
Success Academy \u2014 which operates dozens of schools across<\/a> the city \u2014 argued a state Education Department decision to withhold 2026 AP scores from top school ranker US News & World Report rigged the ratings so that Success ended up 196th among Empire State high schools, according to the suit filed Thursday.<\/p>\n That\u2019s compared to Success Academy\u2019s top-tier ranking just a year earlier when the state allowed the release of AP test scores to US News \u2014 with the charter school snagging the No. 11 high school in the entire state, according to the suit.<\/p>\n Success Academy is a charter school operating dozens of locations across New York City. Google Maps<\/p>\n \u201cNew York has removed an entire category of objective academic information,\u201d Success Academy founder Eva Moskowitz said in a statement. \u201cThe resulting rankings no longer provide the public with a complete picture of school performance.<\/p>\n \u201cOur scholars \u2014 most of whom are low-income, first generation \u2014 took demanding college-level courses, sat for nationally administered examinations, and produced extraordinary results,\u201d she added. \u201cNYSED should not be allowed to prevent the public from seeing what they accomplished.\u201d<\/p>\n Charter Schools are publicly funded and free to attend, but are run privately with curriculums more independent from the public school system.<\/p>\n But that public funding requires them to follow NYSED policies, which this year included the<\/a> restriction of which test scores were released to US News for their rankings.<\/p>\n The state long released the College Board-administered AP test scores \u2014 one of the most widely taken college-preparatory tests \u2014 but last year Education Commissioner Betty Rosa decided that only International Baccalaureate test results could be released to US News.<\/p>\n Officials said that decision stemmed from policies about student privacy, which the SED claimed would be threatened if shared with the publication.<\/p>\n Education Commissioner Betty Rosa declined to allow New York funded schools share AP scores with US News. AP<\/p>\n \u201cThe Department takes its responsibility to protect student data seriously,\u201d a SED spokesperson told The Post.<\/p>\n \u201cCompliance with New York\u2019s student privacy laws is not optional, and it does not take a back seat to US News & World Report\u2019s commercial ranking methodology, or any other desire to turn information about New York\u2019s children into a for-profit product,\u201d they added.<\/p>\n But critics weren\u2019t convinced \u2014 with some lawmakers claiming the state was trying to hide its own failures and stifle charter school successes.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to know what the value of the charter school versus a public school. What are you afraid of?\u201d said Assemblyman Lester Chang (R-Brooklyn). \u201cI believe in transparency. I believe our taxpayers should be out there, out in the open.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd this is an aggregate, not individual,\u201d Chang said of the scores. \u201cSo there is no privacy, per se.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt is extremely disappointing to see New York spend the most amount of money per student each year on our education system, yet Mississippi who spends among the least per student fares better in state test scores,\u201d state Sen. Steve Chan (R-Brooklyn) added.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that\u2019s because we\u2019re not investing the money in the correct places,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd now Betty Rosa\u2019s decision to not release the AP scores, it\u2019s just a blatant cover up of again, money failing to buy performance.\u201d<\/p>\n Success Academy students scored overwhelmingly well on their state proficiency tests this year. Success Academy Charter Schools<\/p>\n Chan\u2019s complaints were highlighted by the results of this year\u2019s state tests \u2014 with charter schools vastly outperforming public schools. <\/p>\n Just 50% of New York City\u2019s public-school kids between third and eighth grade were proficient in reading this year \u2014 down 6 points from last year \u2014 while a mere 57% were proficient in math in the state tests.<\/p>\n Success Academy students, by comparison, scored 91% proficient in reading and<\/a> 96% in math \u2014 with some schools even scoring 100% proficiency on its tests.<\/p>\n