It’s a real “success” story.
Eighth-graders in New York City’s largest charter school network passed the majority of statewide standardized tests with flying colors this year.
The roughly 1,000 students at Success Academy middle schools took and aced four of the five Regent exams required for a high school diploma in New York, The Post has learned.
The students, who at Success Academy are referred to as “scholars,” had pass rates of 93% or higher on all tests, according to a press release from the network.
“The prevailing view on learning loss is that after a year and a half of remote learning, while still being in the midst of pandemic, it will take years to catch up,” said Amaury Ramirez, principal of Success Academy Harlem West Middle School, where all students passed the Algebra I Regents.
“But at SA we believe where there is a will, there is a way. At my school, we worked our hearts and souls out — teachers, administrators, scholars, and parents — we came together as a community,” Ramirez said.
Students also sat for the Living Environment, English Language Arts (ELA), and Global History & Geography exams.
Following the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and school closures, the Success Academy adjusted its passing standard from 70 to 65 in light of remote learning, Ann Powell, a spokesperson for the network, told The Post. The adjustment was made in 2020 when, though the state canceled Regents exams, the charter school operator administered equivalency tests.
On this year’s tests, 96% of students passed the ELA exam, including 80% who scored a 4 or a 5. In history and geography, 94% passed, with 68% earning top marks. Roughly 93% passed algebra and environment tests, with 76% and 72% of them snatching 4s and 5s, respectively.
“There were a couple of Regents that I wasn’t very confident about,” said Isaiah Pena, who has attended Success Academy since kindergarten and completed eighth grade at Success Academy Harlem West. “But when I saw my grades, I felt very accomplished and excited.”
The 2021-22 school year was the first year the students took the ELA and history exams. Students’ scores took a slight hit in the math and environment tests.
In 2018-19, the last school year for which data is available, a third of New York City Department of Education eighth-graders took the Algebra I Regents exam, less than a quarter took the Living Environment, and fewer than 3% took the English Language Arts (ELA) or Global History & Geography Regents.
All eighth-graders across Success Academy’s 13 middle schools are required to sit for the four Regents exams.
Critics of Success Academy and other privately operated but taxpayer-funded charter schools say the model redirects public dollars and building space to a limited share of students — and, in certain cases, take issue with the “no excuses” approach of high achievement and strict behavioral codes that some have implemented in their classrooms.
Regents data for the DOE schools has yet to be released.
“The State typically releases regents data in November, so we won’t see June 2022 numbers until then,” said Nicole Brownstein, a spokesperson for the DOE.
