GreatSchools.org adds data on school culture, learning environment to profiles of 1,700+ New York City public schools

Nation's leading school information site provides families of over 1 million students a new lens on school quality

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Dec 02, 2021, 07:33 ET

OAKLAND, Calif., Dec. 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Parents in New York City have gained additional access to critical data that illuminates what happens inside the district's more than 1,700 public schools each day. National nonprofit and school information site GreatSchools.org today announced the publication of "school climate" data from the New York City Department of Education's 2019-2020 School Survey on the GreatSchools.org profiles of public schools in all five boroughs.

Results from the annual survey provide an overview of a school's learning environment — information that's important for families to understand but often difficult to find. With the integration of NYC School Survey results on GreatSchools profiles, parents and community members can now browse information on schools' leadership, instructional rigor, teaching culture, family engagement, learning environment, and trust — alongside traditional measures of school quality such as academic progress over time (student growth) and proficiency scores — in both English and Spanish.

"We equip parents with trusted information to make decisions about their child's education and advocate for high-quality learning opportunities," said Jon Deane, CEO at GreatSchools. "To do this, we rely on the data transparency of leading districts like the New York City Department of Education to collect and publish this vital information for parents. We hope that providing another easy access point to this information will help parents feel more connected to their child's school and confident in advocating for their child's unique needs."

Today's publication furthers GreatSchools' ongoing effort to widen parents' lens on school quality through updates to its school ratings to emphasize equity and elevate student growth and the addition of data that speak to a school's culture, learning environment, and programs.

Prior to the NYC School Survey, GreatSchools added school climate data from the Illinois State Board of Education's 5Essentials Survey to the profiles of Illinois public schools. Early results from this effort indicate parents are finding the new information valuable, spending nearly twice as long reviewing profiles that contain it compared to those without.

The components of the NYC School Survey are grounded in findings from the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research, which has demonstrated connection among strong performance in the survey categories and positive student outcomes. Additionally, unlike traditional measures of school quality, these data are not strongly correlated to student demographics.

For more information on the NYC School Survey and to access past and present results, visit the NYC Department of Education.

About GreatSchools
GreatSchools is the leading national nonprofit empowering parents with essential information to improve educational opportunities for their child. We are the only national organization that collects and analyzes data from all 51 state departments of education and the federal government to provide analysis, insights, and school quality ratings for parents, partners, researchers, and policymakers. Over 46 million users visit GreatSchools' award-winning website annually to learn about schools in their area, explore research insights, and access thousands of free, evidence-based parenting resources to support their child's learning and well-being. Learn more at GreatSchools.org and join us on Twitter and Facebook.

SOURCE GreatSchools.org