ELEVEN SCHOOLS PLACED ON SURR LIST, 19 REMOVED
IN NEW YORK CITY, YONKERS, BUFFALO, SYRACUSE AND HEMPSTEAD
 

State Education Commissioner Richard Mills today placed 11 schools on the State’s registration review list and removed 19 schools from registration review.

These actions bring the total number of Schools Under Registration Review (SURR schools) to 52 statewide, 35 of them in New York City.  

Of the schools placed under registration review this school year, seven are in New York City, two in Buffalo, and one each in Yonkers and Hempstead. Of the schools removed, 16 are in New York City, and one each in Buffalo, Syracuse and Yonkers.  

The number of schools identified is the same as last year, but fewer than in previous years. The 19 schools removed represents the largest percentage of SURR schools ever removed for academic performance. 

Commissioner Mills said, “The SURR process has helped to improve the education of thousands of students. The school accountability that has come about is continuing to help improve or, where necessary, close and reorganize many schools,” he said.

Since 1989, 267 schools have been identified for registration review. Of these, 186 have been removed because of improving academic performance, including 94 in the past five years. An additional 44 schools that did not meet their performance targets have been closed by school districts, including 4 last year. 

The 52 schools on the list after this announcement is the lowest number of SURR schools since the 1989-90 school year, when the SURR initiative began.  This decline reflects the improvement in elementary and middle school English and math performance, particularly the decline in the number of students performing at Level 1 (serious academic difficulties). This also reflects the efforts by a number of districts to phase out low-performing schools, especially at the high school level.

The level of achievement that schools were required to demonstrate to avoid possible consideration for registration review was more rigorous than last year.  For the 2003-2004 school year results, the Commissioner raised the cutpoint from a score of 82 on the School Accountability Index in Grade 4 and High School English and Math to a score of 90, from 82 to 85 on Grade 8 English  and  from 55 to 60 on Grade 8 Math. The Commissioner also announced today that for 2004-2005 he will raise the cutpoint for farthest from State standards to 98 in Grade 4 ELA and High School ELA and math; to 100 in Grade 4 Math; to 95 in Grade 8 ELA; and to 70 in Grade 8 math.

Attached are lists of schools identified for, and removed from, registration review.

Attachment A - Schools Identified for Registration Review

Attachment B - Schools Removed from Registration Review

Complete SURR List - NYC and Upstate