# New York City Schools Promoted 99.6% of Grades 3 to 8 Students While Only 57% Were Proficient in Math, Report Says

Breitbart relays a New York Post report built on state test data. A Manhattan Institute fellow says staff have no incentive to grade fairly.

- Section: [Culture](https://rightnewsrightnow.com/culture/)
- Published: 2026-11-01
- By: RightNewsRightNow Staff
- Canonical page: https://rightnewsrightnow.com/articles/nyc-public-schools-promote-99-6-percent-students-57-percent-math-proficient-new-york-post-breitbart/

Nearly every student in New York City's public schools moves up a grade, even though many are not proficient in the basics, Breitbart reports, citing the New York Post.

The numbers. According to the Post, the city's Department of Education promoted 99.6% of students in grades 3 to 8 in 2024-2025. Yet only 57% of those students were proficient in math, based on state test data. Breitbart notes that figure is up from 43% in 2018, which the Post called a mysterious jump.

The wider picture. Breitbart cites a Fox News article from July saying more than 900 city public schools had fewer than half of their students passing state reading and math exams. It also cites a report from researchers at the Success Academy charter school network, which said the city's school system, "funded at twice the average rate of other American school districts, has struggled for decades to deliver results that at best are mediocre."

The explanation offered. Danyela Egorov, a fellow at the Manhattan Institute, told the Post: "There are no consequences for poor performance so school staff has no incentive to give a fair grade." She added that New York has the highest per-pupil spending in the country and that if people saw how badly students were doing, "it would be difficult to justify to the taxpayer."

What to keep in mind. We worked from Breitbart's summary, not the Post's full report. The Success Academy report comes from a charter network that competes with district schools, and the Manhattan Institute is a policy group. Breitbart does not include a response from the city's Department of Education, and the figures cover one school year.

## Source

Original reporting: [Breitbart](https://www.breitbart.com/education/2026/10/31/report-nyc-public-school-teachers-promote-99-6-students-though-almost-half-struggle-math-or-reading/)