School accountability in New York encompasses the systems, metrics, and management practices used to monitor student achievement and ensure that public education spending delivers measurable results. This page covers CBC's work on school aid formulas, performance management systems, needs-based funding, teacher compensation and staffing, and the oversight of educational outcomes.
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State leaders should reform school aid allocations to target funds based on district need and local wealth.
The State should reduce the $2.6 billion in school aid to wealthy school districts that fund a sound basic education locally.
State leaders should further change school aid formulas to improve targeting.
State leaders should rigorously examine and reform the school accountability system, including needs assessments developed for poor-performing schools, interventions intended to improve performance, and the methods used to hold districts accountable.
The State should conduct more rigorous analyses to identify the reasons behind New York’s lackluster student performance.
The State should ramp up its efforts to examine the relationships between human and fiscal resources, curriculum, student needs, accountability systems, and achievement.
The State should rigorously examine and, as beneficial, reform its accountability system, including the needs assessments developed for poor-performing schools, the interventions intended to improve performance, and methods it uses to hold districts accountable to ensure results without inhibiting districts’ ability to deliver for students.
The State should identify and implement ways to enhance its support and technical assistance to promote and spread best practices.
The State should examine whether district-led improvement plans are as effective as those developed by NYSED.
Resources should be better targeted based on need, specifically by reallocating funds from wealthy districts to low-wealth, poor-performing districts.
Key Data
As of December 2025, the State continues to provide $2.6 billion in school aid to wealthy school districts that already fund a sound basic education locally.
Per-student spending for elementary and secondary education in New York is 91 percent above the national average, despite student performance remaining in the middle of the pack.
New York State spends double the national average per student on education, yet student performance remains in the middle of the pack, necessitating a shift toward more rigorous school accountability and needs-based funding. State leaders should reform school aid formulas to target districts based on need and wealth while implementing better performance management systems to ensure public funds deliver quality results.
Recommendations related to School Accountability
State leaders should reform school aid allocations to target funds based on district need and local wealth.
The State should reduce the $2.6 billion in school aid to wealthy school districts that fund a sound basic education locally.
State leaders should further change school aid formulas to improve targeting.
State leaders should rigorously examine and reform the school accountability system, including needs assessments developed for poor-performing schools, interventions intended to improve performance, and the methods used to hold districts accountable.
Key Data
$2.6 billion
— Amount of school aid currently provided to wealthy school districts that fund a sound basic education locally.
2.5 million
— Number of K-12 students supported by the New York State budget.
12 percent
— Decline in public school enrollment in New York since 2021.
New York State spends the most per student in the nation, yet academic performance remains average, indicating that increased funding alone is not driving better student outcomes. To address this, the state should improve its oversight, technical assistance, and accountability systems to ensure that school resources are effectively meeting student needs.
Recommendations related to School Accountability
The State should conduct more rigorous analyses to identify the reasons behind New York’s lackluster student performance.
The State should ramp up its efforts to examine the relationships between human and fiscal resources, curriculum, student needs, accountability systems, and achievement.
The State should rigorously examine and, as beneficial, reform its accountability system, including the needs assessments developed for poor-performing schools, the interventions intended to improve performance, and methods it uses to hold districts accountable to ensure results without inhibiting districts’ ability to deliver for students.
The State should identify and implement ways to enhance its support and technical assistance to promote and spread best practices.
The State should examine whether district-led improvement plans are as effective as those developed by NYSED.
Resources should be better targeted based on need, specifically by reallocating funds from wealthy districts to low-wealth, poor-performing districts.
Key Data
$36,293
— New York's average per-student spending in the 2024-25 school year.
21 percent
— The increase in per-student spending since the 2020-21 school year.
$15,756
— The average per-student State school aid in the 2024-25 school year.
$2.8 billion
— The amount of State aid provided in school year 2023-24 to districts that already fully fund a sound basic education.
$29,873
— The amount New York spent per student in 2021-22, which is 91 percent more than the national average.
New York State's record $85 billion in school spending for the 2023-24 school year lacks a comprehensive performance management system to ensure these investments drive improved educational outcomes. The state should implement robust metrics to track results and reallocate the $2.8 billion in aid currently directed to districts that already possess sufficient local resources to provide a sound basic education.
Recommendations related to School Accountability
The State should reduce or reallocate aid currently directed to wealthy districts that are already able to provide a sound basic education with local resources.
The State should establish a comprehensive performance management system for school districts that uses robust metrics to track activities and results, identifies and spreads best practices, and appropriately holds districts accountable.
The performance management system should include a process to review measures, work with districts on corrective action plans, and hold districts accountable for meeting standardized goals.
To balance the budget, the State should rein-in spending growth, with poorly targeted school aid serving as a reasonable option for spending control.
New York’s aid allocations, performance, and programming should be prioritized for proactive improvement to ensure fiscal outlays drive educational outcomes.
Key Data
$85 billion
— Total spending on elementary and secondary education for the 2023-24 school year.
$35,095
— Total spending per pupil for the 2023-24 school year.
$37.4 billion
— Total State school aid for the 2023-24 school year.
$2.8 billion
— State aid provided to 152 school districts that already fully fund a sound basic education with local and regular federal resources.
$9.6 million
— Total revenue shortfall for the five districts statewide that lack adequate resources to provide a sound basic education.
$11.4 billion
— Total funding provided to districts that exceeds what is needed to fund a sound basic education.
New York State continues to increase school aid despite already spending nearly twice the national average per student, with billions of dollars flowing to wealthy districts that do not require the additional funding to meet basic educational standards. The state lacks a robust system to monitor performance and hold districts accountable for student achievement, necessitating a shift toward better-targeted aid and comprehensive performance management.
Recommendations related to School Accountability
The State should stop increasing aid to wealthy districts that fund a Sound Basic Education through local revenue and regular federal aid.
The State should consider freezing aid to better-off districts which already receive State aid in excess of the amount needed for a Sound Basic Education.
The State should reform both Foundation Aid and many of the expense-based aids to direct more of the funds to high-need districts.
The State should implement a robust performance management system to track outcomes, quality, and efficiency of services across districts.
The State should require under-performing districts to implement action plans to improve their performance.
Key Data
$34.4 billion
— Total state school aid for the current school year.
$3.1 billion
— Amount of state aid directed to 176 districts that already fund a Sound Basic Education with local and regular federal resources.
$13.5 billion
— Total amount of state aid provided in excess of the level needed to fund a Sound Basic Education across all districts.
$14.7 million
— Total funding shortfall for the four districts that remain underfunded.
$81.1 billion
— Total spending by school districts in New York for the current school year.
$32,757
— Average per-pupil spending from local, state, and federal funds in school year 2022-23.
Mandating class size limits in New York City public schools through legislation like A.10498/S.9460 imposes significant costs, with operating expenses for grades kindergarten through five estimated at $500 million annually. Effective education policy should instead prioritize universal accountability systems that focus on student outcomes and allow districts to select evidence-based interventions tailored to their specific needs.
Recommendations related to School Accountability
The Governor should veto A.10498/S.9460, which would set class size limits in New York City public schools.
An appropriate accountability system should focus on outcomes and not prescribe one education strategy.
Accountability systems should be universal and not treat one district differently.
Districts should be allowed to choose a portfolio of evidence-based interventions tailored for their students and schools.
Key Data
$500 million
— The estimated annual operating cost for reducing class size to the new limit in just grades kindergarten to five.
$18 million
— The amount already dedicated to a class size reduction pilot in 72 schools.
2.6 million
— The number of students in New York State.
New York City public schools spend more per student than most large urban districts, yet many students are not meeting desired performance levels, with less than 50 percent of third to eighth graders meeting standards in math or English language arts in fiscal year 2019. To improve outcomes, the city should optimize resource allocation, implement need-based funding, and enhance teacher performance assessment and accountability systems.
Recommendations related to School Accountability
The City should critically assess how resources—including federal aid for school reopening—are allocated across schools to maximize student achievement and reduce educational disparities.
The City should provide every school its Fair Student Funding amount, a student need-based weighted funding formula, as an excellent first step in school funding.
The City should evaluate the allocation of resources within schools to determine if certain approaches improve school effectiveness, such as the allocation between the classroom and outside-of-class enrichment or remediation.
The City should focus on how better to assess teacher performance and improve the system of accountability.
The Department of Education should determine if the funds allocated to central administration and district offices are the appropriate amount and spent on the appropriate functions to maximize educational outcomes.
Key Data
less than 50 percent
— In fiscal year 2019, less than 50 percent of third to eighth graders were meeting or exceeding standards in either math or English language arts.
47.4 percent
— In fiscal year 2019, 47.4 percent of third to eighth graders were meeting or exceeding standards in English Language Art.
45.6 percent
— In fiscal year 2019, 45.6 percent of third to eighth graders were meeting or exceeding standards in math.
New York State is providing record levels of school funding, including $11.4 billion in federal pandemic aid, which necessitates stronger performance measurement and management to ensure results. To maintain fiscal stability and improve student outcomes, the state should prioritize aid for districts with the greatest needs while implementing rigorous, transparent tracking of all education spending.
Recommendations related to School Accountability
The State should set goals, track performance, evaluate initiatives, and adjust programs and spending as necessary going forward to ensure stronger performance measurement and management.
Critical performance and accountability standards and processes should be universal.
The State should focus funding on districts with the greatest need, and reduce aid and aid increases to wealthy districts.
The Legislature, Division of the Budget, State Education Department, and the Comptroller’s office should work together to ensure that all recurring and one-time aid is tracked and reported in detail.
The State should ensure that this massive school funding increase drives results.
Key Data
$11.4 billion
— One-time federal pandemic aid that will be spent over four years.
$2.9 billion
— Increase in State aid from school year 2020-21 to 2021-22.
$32,352
— Total per pupil spending this school year.
$40 billion
— Projected school aid in fiscal year 2025.
$3.5 billion
— The fiscal cliff the State will face once extraordinary federal aid is depleted.
$78 billion
— Projected recurring revenues for districts this year.
New York State is providing record levels of school funding, yet this massive influx of resources lacks the necessary management and oversight to ensure it effectively improves student outcomes. To guarantee these funds drive results, the State must implement rigorous performance measurement, publicly report key data, and hold districts accountable for addressing learning loss and educational disparities.
Recommendations related to School Accountability
The State should be tracking and publicly reporting key data and holding districts accountable for addressing the pandemic’s negative impacts, including mitigating learning loss and ensuring a healthy return to school.
The State should manage, expect, and hold districts accountable to improve achievement and reduce educational disparities, using data that it makes publicly available.
The State should identify its goals, establish expectations for results, and enhance its monitoring and accountability processes to increase the likelihood that students benefit from this funding.
The State should consider significantly restraining the new funds it provides to wealthy districts in light of future budget pressures.
State leaders should work with districts to set measurable goals to address the disruptions and improve learning outcomes going forward—a process of performance measurement and management that should be applied government-wide.
Over time, initiatives should be evaluated to identify what works so programs and learning strategies can be either replicated or terminated.
Key Data
$32.5 billion
— Total State school aid for the 2021-22 school year.
$11.4 billion
— Extraordinary federal one-time education funding allocated to districts over a four-year period.
$77.9 billion
— Total federal, State, and local resources for the 2021-22 school year.
$25,139
— Spending per pupil in New York State in 2019.
$39.8 billion
— Projected State school aid spending by school year 2024-25.
$13.2 billion
— Amount by which total statewide funding exceeds the calculated Sound Basic Education (SBE) funding need.
Legislation is needed to improve oversight of preschool special education providers by mandating audits, requiring qualified management, and addressing conflicts of interest where providers evaluate and treat the same children. These measures aim to curb fraud and rising costs, which saw expenditures grow 73 percent over a decade despite a decline in overall public school enrollment.
Recommendations related to School Accountability
The legislation should require that every preschool special education provider be audited at least once by the State Comptroller by March 31, 2018.
The legislation should mandate that Executive Directors of preschool special education providers be fully engaged and qualified for their positions.
The legislation should require written consent from a school district's Committee on Preschool Special Education whenever the same provider conducts both the evaluation and the services.
The State Education Department should be tasked to complete a study of alternative reimbursement methodologies and monitoring protocols to identify further reforms.
The legislation should ensure that all providers in the program are audited and that agency management is qualified, on-site, and full-time.
Key Data
91 percent
— The number of preschoolers receiving more than one authorized service increased by 91 percent from 10,408 to 19,836 between 2001-02 and 2011-12.
73 percent
— Expenditures for preschool special education services grew 73 percent from $732 million to $1.37 billion between 2001-02 and 2011-12.
$12 to $38
— In 2012, the hourly rate for Special Education Itinerant Teacher (SEIT) services in the Western New York region ranged from $12 to $38.
$23 to $58
— In 2012, the hourly rate for Special Education Itinerant Teacher (SEIT) services in the Long Island region ranged from $23 to $58.
3.5 percent
— Public school enrollment statewide declined 3.5 percent between the 2001-02 and 2011-12 school years.
New York's reliance on competitive grants to distribute education funding has proven ineffective, with few districts applying and even fewer receiving funds, while failing to target resources based on student need. Instead of these competitive programs, state aid should be distributed through formulas that account for district wealth and student requirements, or by funding specific initiatives categorically for the districts that need them most.
Recommendations related to School Accountability
The preferable method for distributing school aid is to target it through aid formulas that measure student need and district ability to pay.
If specific programs recommended by the New NY Education Reform Commission are deemed key to improving New York’s education system, then they should be funded categorically and systematically in the districts – and for the students - that most need them.
Key Data
$21.1 billion
— The proposed school aid package for the fiscal year 2013-14.
$175 million
— The total cost of competitive grant programs proposed in the 2013-14 budget.
$10.2 million
— The total amount of performance improvement grants awarded to school districts.
$7.1 million
— The total amount of management efficiency grants awarded to school districts.
$17 million
— The total amount of funding awarded from the $50 million competitive grant pool to date.
New York State's special education system, which employs nearly twice as many professionals per pupil as the national average, faces unsustainable cost growth that necessitates regulatory reform. By aligning state mandates with federal requirements, school districts can gain the flexibility needed to manage services effectively within the constraints of the state's property tax cap.
Recommendations related to School Accountability
The Board of Regents should approve the third round of special education mandate relief proposals as currently drafted to provide school districts with greater flexibility.
The New York State Legislature should pass the necessary statutory changes to align state special education requirements with federal law.
The Board of Regents should resist pressure from special interest groups to weaken or postpone the proposed mandate relief measures.
Key Data
$10,874
— Average cost of instruction per general education student in New York State during the 2008-09 school year.
$26,551
— Average cost of instruction per special education student in New York State during the 2008-09 school year.
7.5 percent
— Average annual rate of growth for instructional spending for special education over the decade leading up to 2008-09.
5.5
— Number of students per staff person in New York's special education system, compared to the U.S. average of 10.1.
$1.3 billion
— Amount by which state aid for school year 2011-12 was cut from the previous year's level.
The upcoming teachers' contract negotiations present an opportunity to address fiscal challenges by implementing merit-based pay, reforming seniority-based staffing, and streamlining the disciplinary process for underperforming educators. By ending indefinite payments to teachers in the "Absent Teacher Reserve" and expediting the removal of unsatisfactory staff, the city can better align compensation with performance and improve educational outcomes.
Recommendations related to School Accountability
Merit pay should replace seniority rewards.
Compensation for teachers who are not teaching should end.
Unsatisfactory teachers should be terminated quickly.
Financial rewards should attract qualified teachers in shortage fields.
Pension and health insurance reforms should be implemented.
The new contract should include modifications to seniority rules that give principals an enhanced role in deciding the order of layoffs so that recent job performance can be a factor.
Key Data
$74 million
— Annual cost of the Absent Teacher Reserve, which houses approximately 1,400 teachers who are not teaching regularly.
$60 million
— Annual cost to the City for approximately 640 teachers placed in temporary reassignment centers while awaiting disciplinary hearings.
$285 million
— Annual savings that would be generated by ending seniority-based pay increments after ten years.
$655 million
— Annual cost of the Mayor's budget allocation for two 4 percent teacher raises.
1,400
— Number of teachers in the Absent Teacher Reserve at the start of the 2008 school year.
640
— Number of teachers charged with poor performance who are taken out of the classroom and paid while their cases are considered.
New York's public schools require a comprehensive accountability system that includes multi-year planning, public reporting on resource usage and student performance, and sanctions for poor management. To ensure funds are used effectively, the state should also prioritize efficiency measures, such as consolidating small districts and optimizing teacher time, to generate over $1.2 billion in annual savings.
Recommendations related to School Accountability
A new statewide system of accountability for schools should be established, including planning for how funds will be used, reporting on how funds are actually used, reporting on student performance, and sanctions for unsatisfactory managerial performance.
School districts should be required to prepare comprehensive, three-year educational plans that account for all resources made available to the school, not just incremental funds.
The State should create a comprehensive statewide database, called EduStat, to track the performance of students and the characteristics of schools.
Serious sanctions for consistently weak schools should be implemented, preceded by positive interventions intended to support management teams facing difficulties.
School performance should be judged using measures of efficiency, such as the proportion of total spending allocated for non-instructional purposes, as well as effectiveness.
Key Data
$1.2 billion
— Annual savings generated by making more efficient use of teacher time, consolidating small school districts, and reallocating State aid.
$350 million
— Annual savings from reducing non-instructional time, including fewer preparation periods and the elimination of sabbaticals and released time for union work.
$125 million
— Annual savings from the consolidation of small school districts and caps on administrative expenses.
$1.5 billion
— Total reduction in state aid for 450 districts under a simulated uniform local tax effort policy.
New York State's fragmented school accountability systems, which rely heavily on standardized testing, fail to provide a coherent framework for measuring school performance or ensuring the efficient use of educational resources. A unified, comprehensive approach is needed that incorporates value-added assessments, qualitative reviews, and clear, consistent consequences for both success and failure.
Recommendations related to School Accountability
The State should implement a consistent State-wide accountability program that is uniform across the State, consistent with federal guidelines, and replaces locally-generated systems.
Districts should be required to specify, in advance of receipt of new funds, the uses to which the new money will be put to ensure they are consistent with the CFE settlement.
Additional monies should be a catalyst for making the use of other funds more effective by requiring districts to specify how non-CFE funding will be re-directed to achieve court-mandated goals.
Districts should be required to specify performance goals for the year that include qualitative measures like graduation rates, college readiness, and attendance, rather than just standardized test scores.
Where standardized tests are used for accountability purposes, they should be based on “value-added” methodologies that compare a student's performance to their own previous results.
Districts should also be held accountable for the absolute level of achievement of their students on standardized tests rather than simply for their rate of improvement.
Districts and the State should be encouraged to develop alternative assessment mechanisms—such as structured portfolio assessments—for inclusion in the accountability system.
Accountability systems should incorporate other quantifiable measures of performance that reflect critical elements like student safety, parent engagement, attendance, and school facility quality.
Qualitative assessment programs should be implemented as part of the State-wide accountability system to include on-site visits by experts on a rotating cycle.
The State accountability system should include measures of the relative efficiency of how resources are used by schools and districts, such as a ratio of inflation-adjusted per-pupil spending to value-added gains.
Key Data
40%
— Percentage of all schools in New York City already designated as “schools in need of improvement”.
12 years
— Timeframe given by the federal government under the No Child Left Behind Act to meet ambitious student performance goals.
40
— Number of children in a demographic group within a school that triggers the requirement for disaggregated reporting of test results.
5
— Number of separate Regents exams students must pass with a score of 65 or better to graduate.
600
— Number of children in an average K-5 school.
32
— Number of community school districts in New York City.
States that have undergone school finance litigation often struggle to link increased funding to improved educational outcomes without implementing robust accountability measures. Successful reforms require not just additional spending, but also targeted investments in areas like early childhood education and smaller class sizes, alongside clear standards and performance-based assessments.
Recommendations related to School Accountability
Policymakers should ensure that additional spending is well targeted to maximize gains in student achievement.
States should prioritize the expansion of pre-kindergarten opportunities to improve student performance.
States should implement small class sizes in the early elementary school grades to enhance educational outcomes.
Policymakers should ensure that accountability systems include clear standards and performance-based assessments to link funding to results.
States should foster supportive political leadership to ensure that court-mandated school finance reforms are prompt and effective.
Key Data
$12 million
— Cost of the Tennessee STAR program over four years.
480 words
— Vocabulary size of poor children at age 3.
750 words
— Vocabulary size of middle-class children at age 3.
1,100 words
— Vocabulary size of the wealthiest children at age 3.
66%
— Percentage of higher SES children who have attended pre-school.
47%
— Percentage of poorer children who have attended pre-school.
New York City must improve its public school system by implementing rigorous accountability measures, including performance-based teacher compensation and increased managerial discretion for principals. To ensure a sound basic education, the city should also optimize existing classroom space through rezoning and year-round scheduling rather than relying solely on expensive new construction.
Recommendations related to School Accountability
Education plans prepared by schools and districts should apply to all resources made available to the school, not just incremental funds.
Reports using EduStat and other required information should make clear to the public the extent to which schools are achieving the standards of a sound basic education.
Indicators of school performance based on student achievement should reflect both the value added by schools as measured by change in achievement over time as well as by comparison to absolute standards.
School performance should be judged with measures of efficiency as well as effectiveness.
The sanctions imposed on consistently weak schools should be preceded by positive interventions intended to support management teams facing difficulties, and successful management teams should be rewarded.
Restructure the pay schedule to make a larger share of compensation conditioned on job performance and to de-emphasize longevity and graduate educational credits.
Use financial incentives to overcome shortages for teachers qualified for and serving in specific titles that are suitably deemed in a shortage condition.
Increase teacher time spent on classroom instruction by reducing preparation and administrative periods.
Enhance principals' managerial discretion by modifying seniority rules to allow principals to select teachers for given posts from among multiple candidates.
Key Data
57 percent
— The national median state share of non-federal primary and secondary education funding.
48 percent
— The share of schools’ non-federal revenue provided by New York State.
171 percent
— The amount New Yorkers pay in local taxes relative to the national average.
43 percent
— The percentage of teacher job titles deemed in shortage in the 1999-2000 school year.
13.9
— The number of pupils for each teacher in New York City public schools.
17 percent
— The state share of education funding nationally in 1930.
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