More proof that charter network Success Academy’s model doesn’t just work, it blows the competition out of the water: In June, Success’ middle schoolers took the 2024 New York State Regents exams, usually given to students in 10th and 11th grade, and beat the 2023 results of nearly 200,000 regular public high schoolers, outperforming them by more than 30%.
The method behind those stunning stats: Success believes kids are capable of meeting high standards and gives them the tools and support to do it.
Most regular public schools keep hiding their own incompetence by lowering the bar for students. Success starts kids on challenging coursework early, setting up students to be college-ready (and often miles ahead of their peers at city-run schools) by the time they graduate.
Meanwhile, the United Federation of Teachers pushes back against any suggestion that teachers are responsible for actually educating their students.
Remember: These are the same Regents exams that New York is making optional in favor of watered-down proficiency tests — one more way the state’s education “leaders” are giving up on teaching kids, even as they rail about “equity” and pretend that standardized tests are somehow unfair to minority students.
The outcomes for the kids at Success pour cold water on that argument.
Of the 2,400 Success scholars who sat for the Regents in June, 56% were black, 31% Hispanic and 74% economically disadvantaged — yet they passed with flying colors.
Success’ model isn’t for every student — but it’s a winner for knowledge-hungry kids, who are proving it works with near-miraculous performances on state tests, time and time again.
These are bright students who, without the chance to attend a charter, would otherwise likely be stuck in poorly run neighborhood schools from kindergarten on — and so never encouraged and supported to bloom.
Instead, they’re thriving at Success.
If Gov. Hochul and Mayor Adams still somehow need a sign that they should be pushing hard for new charter schools, this is a big, flashing one.