New York City Students Set a New Record

As they returned to school last week, New York City students set a new record, but it wasn't in academic achievement. 

At $42,168 per student, New York City now spends more per student than at any point in history, and 36% more per student than the city spent just five years ago. The Department of Education's $41.2 billion budget represents one-third of the city's overall budget.

The spike in per-student spending is partly due to enrollment falling by more than 100,000 students since 2020. New city and state dollars backfilled expiring federal aid, and school buildings went underutilized while top-line spending elevated even as headcount dropped.

But that doesn’t resolve the core issue: More money per student hasn’t translated into better citywide learning outcomes.

On the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) – dubbed the nation's report card  – the city’s 4th- and 8th-grade math and reading results in 2024 were statistically flat compared with 2019. In math, for example, the share of 8th graders scoring “proficient” slipped compared to 2019, and reading showed similarly modest movement.

It's also worth comparing New York to other states when it comes to education spending and results. Districts in New York spend an average of $36,293 per student, more than twice the national average of $16,340. Yet, in the 2024 NAEP tests, New York students scored right around the national average on math and reading and below Florida, which spends only $11,283 per student. California had similar results but spends $23,878 per student, while Massachusetts performed best in the nation at $21,885 per student.  

With 23 students in a class, the per-pupil spending amounts to an investment of nearly one million dollars per classroom. Yet, on the national exams, only about one-third of New York’s fourth graders and one-fourth of eighth graders scored proficient in Math and reading. Students have scored better on state tests, but those standards and benchmarks have shifted over the years. 

Recent reforms in Albany have focused on capping class size, which the city said could cost hundreds of millions of dollars. Smaller class sizes improve academic outcomes up to a certain grade level. Still, the city would be better off focusing resources on recruiting, retaining, and rewarding top teachers, and encouraging more of them to teach in high-need communities.

It’s also important to note that not all public schools perform at the same level.  As we've reported previously, New York City public charter schools outperform traditional district schools, especially for students of color, despite spending half the rate per pupil. The city should look to expand these high-performing charters and understand how their students achieve better outcomes. 

Additionally, as enrollment has dropped, the number of unused classroom seats across the city has increased to 215,000, or more than one-fifth of all seats. One hundred school buildings have 500-1,000 empty seats. The city should explore cost savings from facilities by closing or merging some of these schools, especially schools that continue to chronically underperform on student achievement. 

Education barely registered any attention in the mayoral race. However, with escalating costs and stagnating student achievement, the next administration should prioritize evaluating the return on our investment in education.

Three More Things

On Mamdani’s education agenda, former NYC Schools Chancellor during the Bloomberg Administration Joel Klein outlined reasons to be concerned. Klein notes Madani's disdain for charter schools, weakening of gifted and talented programs, and aversion to mayoral control.

On innovation in schools, the Alpha School’s founder joined New York Times’ Hard Fork podcast and its principal joined Invest Like the Best to discuss the private school’s innovative approach to schooling, including how it uses AI to collapse the school day into two hours of intensive learning, followed by group activity.

On running for local office, we’re hosting a breakfast next Wednesday, September 17th with City Council candidate Virginia Maloney. Learn more and RSVP here.