How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed the School Quality Snapshot?
During the 2020–21 school year, the New York City Department of Education (DOE) made a variety of adjustments to ensure that all students could learn safely during the pandemic. For example, families were offered the option of blended learning (a mix of in-person days at school and remote-learning days at home) or fully remote learning. Whereas normally almost all students take the New York State tests in grades 3–8, in 2020–21 most remote students did not take the tests. Instead of offering all Regents exams, the state limited Regents exams to four subjects, and the Regents exams were not required for graduation. In response to adjustments like these, the 2020–21 School Quality Snapshot includes COVID-19 changes listed below.
No overall ratings
All schools typically receive ratings on a scale of 1 to 4 in categories such as “Student Achievement,” “Rigorous Instruction,” and “Collaborative Teachers.” For 2020–21, the DOE did not calculate these ratings for schools. Some data that is needed to calculate the ratings, such as New York State test scores, is not representative of the full student body due to the pandemic and lowered, optional participation. You will find a red note on each tab of the Snapshot stating that ratings are not available.
No comparisons to city, district, borough, or Comparison Group data
In the years before COVID-19, most test scores and survey results were shown next to the average results for the entire city, with additional comparisons in some cases to district, borough, and Comparison Groups. This year, the Snapshot does not have comparisons. See examples below.
Attendance Rates
On the 2020–21 School Quality Snapshot, the attendance rates are displayed on the Supportive Environment tab. During the 2020–21 school year, some students had blended schedules, in which they came to school on some days and learned from home on others, while some students had fully remote schedules, in which they attended classes virtually all the time. Because of the different ways in which students attended school, the School Quality Snapshot displays attendance in several ways.
- The “student overall attendance” rate is the average of all students’ attendance on all days.
- The “student in-person attendance” rate includes only students with blended schedules on the days that they were scheduled to be in the school building.
- The “student remote attendance” rate is the average of all students’ attendance on the days that they learned remotely.
New York State test data not displayed
In school years prior to COVID-19, New York administered the New York State ELA and math tests to all third- through eighth-grade students each Spring. For the 2020–21 school year, New York State tests were not administered to all students. Instead, students who attended school inside a school building took the tests. Students who attended school remotely were given the option to take the tests, but were not required to do so.
Similarly, Regents exams, normally given as the culminating exams for a variety of high-school level courses, were offered in a limited capacity in 2020–21. Only certain exams were offered, and students who took the associated courses were not required to take the Regents exams.
Because the test results for both the grade 3–8 New York State exams and the Regents exams include scores for only a subsection of students, those scores are not included in the 2020–21 School Quality Snapshot.
High school graduation requirement changes: Regents exams not required
Since the June 2021 Regents exams were not required, many students were eligible to waive these exams for graduation in 2021. For example, students with a waiver for a June 2021 Regents exam were not required to pass that exam to graduate. With this waiver, students were able to graduate as soon as they earned all their course credits and completed any program requirements.
Survey response rates are lower than usual
The NYC School Survey was available from May 7– June 18, 2021. Most years, parents, school staff, and students have the option to complete the survey in person in school buildings, and the survey is available in two formats: online or on paper. In 2020–21, with many members of the school community completely remote, the survey was primarily administered online, and response rates were lower than in years that were not impacted by COVID-19.
You can find survey responses on each tab of the School Quality Snapshot. In some cases, the survey results represent the opinions of a small portion of the members of a school community. You should make note of the response rates when you look at the survey results.
No Quality Reviews during the 2020–21 school year
As part of the DOE’s system for ensuring school quality, experienced educators visit and evaluate schools, and publish their findings in Quality Review Reports. During years that are not disrupted by COVID-19, reviewers visit a selection of schools—not all schools have Quality Reviews every year. The School Quality Snapshot displays selected questions from each school’s most recent Quality Review Report (and links to the full report for each school).
As a safety measure during the 2020–21 school year, visitors to school buildings were kept to a minimum, and no Quality Reviews were held. This year’s School Quality Snapshot still displays Quality Review results, but all Quality Reviews are from years prior to 2020–21.
For additional information about how the DOE shares data about school quality, please review School Quality Reports and Resources. Return to the School Quality Snapshot.