New York City schools promote almost all students despite low proficiency

New York City public schools promoted 99.6 percent of students in grades three through eight in 2024. The New York Post reported that teachers and principals continue to advance almost all students even though nearly half are not proficient in reading or mathematics. [1]

Danyela Egorov, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, stated that school staff members have no incentive to give fair grades because there are no consequences for poor performance. She added that New York has the highest per pupil spending in the nation, which would be difficult to justify to taxpayers if the public saw how poorly students were actually performing. [1]

The latest findings follow previous problems reported in the city school system. As FTMQ News reported earlier, an investigation revealed that six non-verbal special education students were kept trapped on a New York City school bus for nearly four and a half hours in December 2025. [1][4]