Indicators within Early Education

• Race & Pre-K Diversity

  What is Measured?
  Percentage of pre-Ks with more than 75% of their enrollees from one racial or ethnic group.

  What’s the Backstory?
  Diversity among preschool peers can support cognitive and social development as well as equality and may improve language skills and reduce prejudice. Most children in public pre-Ks in the US are in programs that are segregated economically and often by race or ethnicity.

  What Did We Find?
  For more than one-third of public pre-Ks (36.0%), more than 75% of enrollees were from one racial or ethnic group, which was similar to the percentage at baseline (36.4%). However, more than three in four (77.2%) pre-Ks had a racial or ethnic majority of some kind (i.e., more than 50% of enrollees were from one racial or ethnic group). Of those, 30.6% were majority Hispanic, 21.8% were majority black, 14.3% were majority white, and 10.4% were majority Asian. Less than a quarter (22.8%) had no racial or ethnic majority.
• Income & Child Care Facilities

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between the percentages of parents in the bottom and top income groups without a child care center within a 10-minute walk.

  What’s the Backstory?
  Parents often cite location as one of their priorities when deciding on child care providers, and this may be especially important for those with low income. Having a child care center nearby allows greater flexibility for family members or other trusted adults to drop off or pick up children when parents are at work or school.

  What Did We Find?
  The percentage of parents who reported there was no child care center within a 10-minute walk of their home increased from the baseline in both the top income group (from 6.5% to 17.0%) and the bottom income group (from 14.3% to 20.6%), but the larger increase for the top group lead to a large decrease in the disparity between the two groups. There were also racial and ethnic disparities, with more than a quarter of Hispanic (30.1%), white (27.8%), and Asian parents (25.3%) indicating there was not a child care center within a 10-minute walk, compared to 21.4% of black parents. Additionally, lesbian/gay/bisexual parents were substantially more likely (35.7%) than heterosexual parents (23.9%), and US-born parents somewhat more likely (27.6%) than foreign-born parents (24.5%) to report not having a child care center nearby.
• Income & Pre-K Quality

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between the average ECERS-R ratings in pre-Ks in the bottom and top income areas.

  What’s the Backstory?
  The link between the quality of the physical and social environments of pre-K classrooms and young children’s learning and development is well-documented. Access to quality pre-K varies by income, with children from low-income families least likely to be in high-quality preschool settings.

  What Did We Find?
  DOE’s Early Childhood Environment Rating System-Revised (ECERS-R) rates pre-K programs on a 1-7 scale across six different areas that relate to child development outcomes. The average ECERS-R rating increased slightly from the baseline for pre-Ks in the bottom income area (from 3.97 to 4.18) but decreased slightly in the top income area (from 4.39 to 4.36). As a result, there was a moderate decrease in the disparity between the two income groups. Both groups had an average rating higher than 3.4 in each year, which is the level shown to be associated with improved child outcomes.
• Family Composition & Early School Enrollment

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between the percentages of 3- and 4-year-olds living with one and two parents who are not enrolled in school.

  What’s the Backstory?
  High-quality early education fosters children’s development and educational success and improves families’ financial security by freeing up parents to become or remain employed. Early education may be especially important for children with single parents, as it often helps provide them with greater stability.

  What Did We Find?
  The percentage of 3- and 4-year-olds not enrolled in school decreased slightly from the baseline year for children living with one parent (from 43.5% to 37.7%) and children living with two parents (from 37.1% to 35.0%), and the disparity also decreased slightly. Children living with single fathers were particularly likely not to be enrolled in school, although the percentage decreased from baseline for both single fathers (from 47.9% to 41.8%), and single mothers (from 42.6 to 36.9%), indicating that children in both types of single-parent homes were more likely to be enrolled in school in the current year than at baseline. Poverty also affected enrollment, with children living in households at or below the poverty threshold (39.2%) more likely not to be enrolled in school then children living in households above the poverty threshold (34.9%).
• Scores in Context: Local Initiatives

  Accessible and equitable early education is a hallmark of the de Blasio administration and a current priority of the NYC Department of Education (DOE). The data in this report coincide with the first few years of the Pre-K for All initiative, a major policy change in early education launched in the 2014-2015 academic year (AY). New initiatives may promote change in future years as more children are enrolled in early education. Recent early education initiatives fit into two categories: general initiatives that work to increase access and may affect disadvantaged groups indirectly, and policies and programs that target the inequalities reflected in specific indicators included here.

  With respect to general initiatives, several policies went into effect in the fall of 2017 that aim to increase access to and promote inclusion in early education. The goal of Pre-K for All was to provide every four-year-old with access to free, full-day, high-quality pre-K, and several of these new initiatives are pilot programs designed to expand it. For example, DOE is currently piloting 3-K for All in School Districts 7 and 23, districts where more than 96% of students are black or Hispanic, and where more than 91% of students live in poverty. DOE plans to expand 3-K for All to six additional districts by fall 2020. Additionally, 10 elementary schools are participating in a Diversity in Pre-K for All Admissions pilot initiative in AY 2017-2018, which gives priority to students who are eligible for Free Reduced Lunch, are English Language Learners, are in the child welfare system, and/or whose families are impacted by incarceration.

  With respect to more targeted efforts, in May 2017 the City Council passed the School Diversity Accountability Act, which may contribute to change in the race and pre-K diversity indicator in future reports. The School Diversity Accountability Act requires DOE to establish diversity as a priority in decision-making processes and release demographic data for all NYC public schools, including breakdowns of pre-K programs by race, ethnicity, and gender. The policy change came after a 2015 report by The Century Foundation recommended tracking school demographic data to encourage diversity. In June 2017, DOE released the Equity and Excellence for All plan to increase diversity and inclusivity in public schools and included a policy statement identifying DOE’s commitment to diversity, in accordance with the School Diversity Accountability Act. DOE simultaneously announced the formation of a School Diversity Advisory Group to oversee the progress of this initiative.

Indicators within Elementary & Middle School Education

• Race & Math Proficiency

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between the percentages of blacks and Asians in grades 3-8 rated less than proficient on the math Common Core.

  What’s the Backstory?
  Math skills are valuable not only in the context of school, but are needed for everyday calculations and can enhance employment opportunities. Nationwide, Asians have the highest math scores followed by whites, while blacks and Latinos lag behind.

  What Did We Find?
  There was negligible change from the baseline year in the disparity between black and Asian students’ performance on the math Common Core. This year, eight in 10 black students in grades 3-8 were not proficient on the math Common Core (79.3%), compared to just under one third of Asian students (32.2%). Three-quarters of Hispanics (74.7%) were not proficient, while two in five whites (41.0%) did not achieve proficiency. There was also a large disparity by disability status, with 88.2% of students with disabilities compared to 55.4% of students without disabilities not reaching proficiency, and by economic disadvantage, with 45.7% of students not classified as economically disadvantaged, compared to 68.9% of economically disadvantaged students not reaching proficiency. There was little difference by gender, with almost two-thirds of both male (63.0%) and female (61.4%) students not proficient in math.
• Race & Principal Experience

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between the median years of principal experience in majority black and majority Asian schools.

  What’s the Backstory?
  Principals with greater experience are more likely to support teachers’ sense of self-efficacy and can lead to better student outcomes, such as performance on standardized tests, fewer absences and suspensions, and higher graduation rates. This may be particularly true of experienced principals in schools with a majority-minority student body.

  What Did We Find?
  The median years of principal experience across schools increased from the baseline year for majority black schools and decreased for majority Asian schools, leading to a large decrease in the disparity between the two groups. Majority Asian schools had a decrease of 2.50 years but still maintained the highest median years of principal experience (5.80, down from 8.30 years). Majority black schools had an increase of 0.80 years, but their principals still had the fewest median years (4.80, up from 4.00). The median years of principal experience in majority Hispanic schools (from 6.20 to 5.00 years) and majority white schools (from 6.05 to 5.90 years) both decreased somewhat from baseline.
• Income & School Safety

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between the average percentages of students in schools located in the bottom and top income areas who do not feel safe in the area outside their school.

  What’s the Backstory?
  School safety can affect both physical and mental health, as well as ability to thrive in school. In the US, parents with lower incomes are more likely than those with higher incomes to report school safety as a serious problem.

  What Did We Find?
  In both the bottom and top 20% median income census tracts, the average percentage of students who reported that they did not feel safe in the area outside their school was smaller than in the baseline year; however, the disparity between the two remained the same. Additionally, there were disparities in students feeling safe in school and traveling to and from school: the same percentage of students in the bottom income areas reported feeling unsafe in school (16.9%) as traveling (16.9%) while students in the top income areas were more likely to report feeling unsafe in school hallways, bathrooms, locker rooms, and cafeterias (14.7%) than on their way to and from school (11.9%), and in both cases were less likely to report feeling unsafe than those in the bottom income areas.
• Disability & English Proficiency

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between the percentages of students with and without disabilities in grades 3-8 rated less than proficient on the English Language Arts Common Core.

  What’s the Backstory?
  More than 17% of students in NYC public schools are classified as students with disabilities, and students with disabilities often face substantial challenges in learning and at school. In the US, students with disabilities have dramatically lower levels of proficiency in math and reading than those without disabilities.

  What Did We Find?
  Students with and without disabilities improved their proficiency on the English Language Arts Common Core, but there was a larger disparity between these groups than in the baseline year. Almost nine in 10 students with disabilities in grades 3-8 were rated less than proficient on the English Language Arts Common Core (89.3%), compared to 51.4% of students without disabilities. There were also large racial and ethnic differences in proficiency: 71.1% of blacks and 70.3% of Hispanics were not proficient in English Language Arts, compared to 39.0% of Asians and 39.0% of whites. There was also a disparity by economic disadvantage, with 42.3% of students who were not economically disadvantaged compared to 66.3% of economically disadvantaged students not reaching proficiency.
• Scores in Context: Local Initiatives

  Policies to improve elementary and middle school education include both those that aim to improve education holistically and those that target specific issues captured at the indicator level.

  At the broader holistic level, DOE’s Renewal School and Community School programs invest in underperforming schools, specifically by building community partnerships to improve academic proficiency and integrate principals, teachers, and students into the broader communities where they are embedded. The hope is that by strengthening community partnerships and engagement, the Renewal program will help transform the lowest performing schools into better-performing Community Schools. With 86 schools as of fall 2017, Renewal Schools include elementary and middle schools that demonstrated low academic achievement for each of the three prior years.

  With respect to more targeted initiatives, in AY 2016-2017 DOE launched the Equity and Excellence for All agenda (mentioned in the Early Education topic), which includes math and English proficiency initiatives that speak to two indicators: race and math proficiency and disability and English proficiency. The math initiative—Algebra for All—requires that students complete algebra no later than 9th grade, and helps middle and high schools revitalize math curricula so that they can meet that requirement. By 2022, the aim is to provide all students with access to an algebra course in 8th grade. To improve English proficiency, in turn, the Universal Literacy initiative employs reading coaches in elementary schools, with a goal to have every student reading at grade level by the end of 2nd grade. The program is currently being piloted in four districts with relatively low 3rd grade English Language Arts scores and will be expanded to all NYC districts by the 2018-2019 school year. As part of the initiative, in February 2017 DOE announced a $3 million allocation to purchase books and build libraries in the elementary schools participating in the pilot. The Universal Literacy initiative may be particularly beneficial to students with disabilities, who may need more individualized assistance.

  The City has also implemented initiatives to improve school safety, and although they are broad in scope, they may still benefit low-income students (reflected in the income and school safety indicator) more than others. DOE’s Respect for All program—which aims to raise awareness of bullying and create safe school environments for students in part by encouraging and providing guidance on reporting—is one example. Additionally, in October 2017 DOE announced an $8 million dollar initiative over the next several years to enable students and parents to report incidents and reduce bullying in schools. And the NYS Dignity for All Students Act (DASA) continues to require school districts to collect and report data on discrimination, harassment, and cyberbullying.

  Additionally, NYC and New York State are attentive to who is disproportionately unsafe in and around schools. In March 2017, DOE published Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Student Guidelines to provide educators with best practices for tackling bullying against these students. Similarly, State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued a statement in February 2017 reminding educators of the protections for transgender and gender-nonconforming students, citing a 2015 guidance document that outlined how school and district administrators can support these students and create a safe learning environment for all students.

Indicators within High School Education

• Race & Academic Performance

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between the percentages of black and white high school students not passing the statewide English exam.

  What’s the Backstory?
  In order to graduate in New York State, most high school students take one of two standardized English tests; a passing score on the Comprehensive English Regents exam is 65 points and above, and the equivalent for the Common Core English Language Arts exam is level three or above. In NYC, Hispanic and black students are least likely to earn a passing score.

  What Did We Find?
  The percentages of Hispanic and white high school students not passing the statewide English exam decreased from baseline (from 32.1% to 29.3% for Hispanic students and from 18.5% to 14.6% for white students), although the disparity increased moderately. Black students fared similarly to Hispanic students with more than one-quarter (28.1%) not passing, compared to 17.8% of Asian students. A similar disparity was found between economically disadvantaged students (27.4%) and students not facing economic disadvantage (19.6%). One in five female students (20.3%) did not pass the exam, faring better than male students, 30.1% of whom did not pass.
• Race & School Discipline

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between the suspension rates of black and white students.

  What’s the Backstory?
  School suspensions can disrupt learning and exacerbate other challenges to thriving in school. Students who have been suspended are more likely to be held back a grade level and drop out of school than other students their age. Suspensions disproportionately affect black and Hispanic children, and may increase the likelihood of arrest or incarceration.

  What Did We Find?
  Overall, the total number of suspensions, suspension rates, and the disparities across racial and ethnic groups decreased slightly from the baseline. Black students were suspended at a higher rate than students of any other race or ethnicity (6,067.874 per 100,000): the suspension rate for Hispanic students (3,015.680) was about half that of black students, while white students were suspended at a still lower rate (1,798.441). Black students accounted for about half of all suspensions in schools (49.6%) despite representing more than a quarter (27.1%) of the student population. Hispanic students accounted for 36.8% of suspensions and 40.5% of the student population, while white students represented 14.8% of the population and just 8.0% of suspensions. Students from other racial and ethnic groups accounted for 5.6% of suspensions, including Asian students, who make up 15.5% of the student body.
• Disability & On-time Graduation

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between the percentages of students with and without disabilities not graduating from high school in four years.

  What’s the Backstory?
  Numerous barriers and challenges may keep students with disabilities from performing well academically and graduating. Students with disabilities are more likely to be held back a grade, often because of behavioral problems, and are more likely than other students in their age group to drop out of school.

  What Did We Find?
  The percentages of students with (58.7%) and without disabilities (24.4%) that did not graduate on time both decreased from the baseline, while there was a negligible increase in the disparity between the groups. Racial and ethnic disparities were also notable, with 36.5% of Hispanic students and 35.4% of black students not graduating on time, compared to 20.0% of white students and 16.7% of Asian students.
• Income & On-Time Graduation

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between the percentages of 18-year-olds living below and above the poverty line who have a high school diploma or higher.

  What’s the Backstory?
  A high school diploma is important for future economic stability. Without one, an individual’s lifetime earnings drop substantially compared with those with a diploma, as does the likelihood of better health outcomes and higher life satisfaction. In NYC, there is a very strong correlation between the child poverty rate and graduation rate in a neighborhood.

  What Did We Find?
  More than half (56.8%) of 18-year-olds living below the poverty line had a high school diploma, compared to 61.5% of 18-year-olds living above the poverty line. The small improvement from the baseline year is due to a small increase in the percentage possessing a diploma for 18-year olds below the poverty line (from 51.1% to 56.8%), while the percentage remained largely the same for those living above it (from 61.4% to 61.5%). Attainment also differed by citizenship status: among 18-year-olds who were not US citizens, 54.1% had a high school diploma, compared to more than two-thirds (67.1%) of 18-year-old citizens.
• Scores in Context: Local Initiatives

  High school initiatives include programs and pilot initiatives that target specific underperforming schools, as well as school discipline policies that may affect outcomes for students citywide. Overarching initiatives address high school performance generally and may impact disadvantaged groups indirectly, while more specific policies target disadvantaged groups or schools with high proportions of disadvantaged groups.

  One overarching initiative is DOE’s Renewal School program, referenced in the Elementary and Middle School Education topic, which invests in underperforming schools and builds community partnerships to improve academic achievement. Again, part of the program plan is to transform low-performing schools into better-performing Community Schools, building partnerships with community-based organizations to strengthen the schools’ roots in community and improve students’ academic performance and graduation rates. The Renewal School program targets high schools with graduation rates in the bottom 25% for each of the three prior years and works to improve outcomes for all students in targeted schools, regardless of race, income, or disability status.

  With respect to more targeted initiatives, DOE’s Single Shepherd initiative speaks to the inequalities reflected in three of the four indicators in this topic: race and academic performance, income and on-time graduation, and disability and on-time graduation. Started in fall 2016, Single Shepherd serves all middle and high schools in districts 7 and 23, where more than 96% of students are black or Hispanic. Additionally, more than 91% of students in these districts live in poverty and more than 23% of students have disabilities, compared to 77% and 19% across NYC public schools citywide, respectively. The program connects middle and high school students in these districts with mentors, or “Shepherds,” to guide them to graduation and help them with their post-graduation plans. Single Shepherd is a pilot program under the Equity and Excellence for All initiative discussed in the Early Education and Elementary and Middle School Education topics.

  Mayor de Blasio’s roadmap for reducing punitive school discipline and eliminating disparities in rates of suspensions, arrests, and summonses for students of color and students with disabilities, in turn, speaks to the inequality reflected in the race and school discipline indicator. Announced in November 2015, strategies include reducing suspensions for insubordination, an area with noted racial disparities, as well as introducing de-escalation training, restorative techniques, social-emotional learning, and metal detector protocols, based on recommendations from the Mayor’s Leadership Team on School Climate and Discipline. Phase Two of the Leadership Team’s recommendations, published in July 2016, suggested updating the discipline code to reduce suspension use, expanding resources for high-need schools and students, clarifying safety policies and procedures with staff, and increasing reporting and transparency.

Indicators within Higher Education

• Race & Degree Attainment

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between the percentages of Hispanics and whites who do not have a bachelor’s degree.

  What’s the Backstory?
  A college degree generates benefits that are educational, vocational, and personal, and may lead to more employment opportunities, greater income, better benefits, and more stability. Hispanics in the US are less likely to have a bachelor’s degree, which may hamper their economic prospects.

  What Did We Find?
  Overall, 42.2% of respondents did not have a bachelor’s degree or higher; of these, 5.9% did not have a high school diploma. The percentage of respondents without a bachelor’s degree decreased from baseline across all racial and ethnic groups, dropping for white (30.3%, down from 35.3%), Hispanic (57.2%, down from 63.3%), Asian (27.6%, down from 35.8%), and black respondents (51.1%, down from 62.0%), although the disparity between Hispanics and whites increased slightly. Six in 10 respondents with a physical disability (59.9%) and with an intellectual disability (60.4%) had less than a bachelor’s degree, compared to only 41.5% of respondents without a disability.
• Race & Post-Degree Employment

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between the percentages of recent Asian and white graduates who are unemployed.

  What’s the Backstory?
  A college degree may lead to more employment opportunities, greater income, and more stability. In NYC, racial and ethnic minorities are more likely than whites to be unemployed even when they have similar levels of educational attainment.

  What Did We Find?
  The percentage of recent graduates (defined as individuals 21-25 with a bachelor’s degree or higher) who are unemployed remained similar to the baseline year for whites, but decreased for Asians, and there was a moderate decrease in the disparity between the two groups. Unemployment among Asian recent graduates decreased from 11.2% at baseline to 8.2%, while employment among white recent graduates was similar to the baseline year (4.7%, compared to 4.4% at baseline). There was little change in unemployment among black (from 10.6% to 10.2%) and Hispanic recent graduates (from 8.9% to 9.7%).
• Gender & Science Degrees

  What is Measured?
  Ratio between the percentages of female and male CUNY degree recipients whose degrees are in STEM fields.

  What’s the Backstory?
  In recent years, job growth in STEM fields has dramatically exceeded other job growth in the US. Women obtain STEM degrees at a disproportionately lower rate than men, and though they constitute roughly half of the nation’s workforce, they hold fewer than one in four STEM jobs.

  What Did We Find?
  Men were much more likely to get STEM degrees than women: 22.0% of male CUNY graduates received their degrees in STEM fields, compared to only 8.5% of female graduates. While this represented an increase for both men and women, there was no change in the disparity between the two. Of those getting STEM degrees, women were the most likely to get their degrees in science disciplines (59.3%) followed distantly by technology (21.3%), while men were most likely to get them in technology (51.4%) followed by science (24.2%). Among racial and ethnic groups, Asians were by far the most likely to get their degrees in STEM fields (21.1%), followed by blacks (13.5%), whites (11.9%), and Hispanics (9.7%).
• Incarceration & Vocational Training

  What is Measured?
  Percentage of the average daily jail population not attending vocational training.

  What’s the Backstory?
  Roughly half of the people incarcerated in US jails and prisons lack a high school diploma or its equivalent, and they disproportionately lack job skills. Educational and vocational programs in correctional settings can help reduce recidivism and may improve the likelihood that people will find future employment.

  What Did We Find?
  The average daily jail population was 9,505, and the average daily number of participants in reentry and hard skills training programs was 1,323, or 14.0%. While the vast majority of jail inmates did not attend vocational or related reentry programming (86.0%), the percentage not attending decreased from baseline (89.5%), indicating more involvement. Of those participating, 52.9% were involved in I-CAN, 16.2% were involved in Workforce Development/I-CAN Hard Skills training, and 18.1% participated in Literacy/GED classes.
• Scores in Context: Local Initiatives

  Policies to improve equality and access in higher education fall into two categories: general and targeted. General polices aim to facilitate or improve college education across the board or in a specific field, while targeted policies focus specifically on improving access for disadvantaged groups.

  In recent years NYC has rolled out several initiatives aimed at increasing degree attainment more broadly. The Graduate NYC partnership between DOE and CUNY, for example, produces policy research and recommendations to increase college readiness and enrollment rates among public high school graduates. NYC also started offering free SAT exams for all high school juniors in 2015, and in fall 2016, began waiving application fees to CUNY schools for low-income students.

  With respect to more targeted initiatives, CUNY’s Women in Technology and Entrepreneurship in New York (WiTNY) aims to increase gender equality in the field of technology by providing scholarships to female CUNY students pursuing STEM majors, which may address disparities in the gender and science degrees indicator. WiTNY also works with high school girls and undergraduate and graduate women to encourage them to pursue STEM degrees through internships, community-building resources and networking. As part of these efforts, in 2016 WiTNY established the Summer Guild program, which provides funding for women to attend networking and education sessions in technology industries.

  CUNY’s Tech Talent Pipeline (TTP) and Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) programs also have the potential to address disparities in STEM degrees. Although it does not focus on any specific group that is underrepresented in the field, TTP aims to double the overall number of students graduating from CUNY schools with technology degrees by 2022. TTP is a growing program, continuing to expand over time. For example, in February 2017 the City expanded TTP’s Residency Program, which provides computer science internships to undergraduate students at Queens College and Lehman College. P-TECH, in turn, is a 6-year career-readiness program that allows students to graduate with a high school diploma and credits toward an associate’s degree, along with work experience in technology fields, after which they may pursue a bachelor’s degree or enter the workforce.

  Finally, the City has expanded access to vocational training and reentry programs in jail, which is consistent with the increase in equality we saw in the incarceration and vocational training indicator, as well as data from the most recent Mayor’s Management Report (MMR). The MMR shows an increase in the average daily number of Department of Correction (DOC) inmates participating in reentry and vocational skills programming in FY 2017. According to the MMR, the increase in participation can be attributed to the expansion of the Individualized Correction Achievement Network (I-CAN) reentry program and the creation of a Workforce Development unit for adolescents and young adults. While not all inmates elected to participate in the expanded programming, the increased level of access gave more individuals opportunity to do so. In addition to I-CAN, DOC recently introduced a program called SMART that gives all inmates in the general population access to reentry support and vocational training.