The New York Post has found that nearly half of NYC’s high school graduates who enrolled in one of the city’s seven City University of New York’s (CUNY) community colleges in 2022 required remedial math or English courses. Several students at Borough Manhattan Community College (BMCC) and Bronx Community College (BCC) shared that their education in Bronx public schools did not prepare them for college level courses. In fact, a 2022 audit conducted by state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli found that only 57% of DOE graduates were college ready—and around 37% of students who went on to higher education dropped out within the first semester.
Inequity that already exists within NYC schools coupled with chronic absenteeism post-pandemic, and an issue with grade inflation to increase graduation rates all seem to play a role. While graduation rates have increased from 65% in 2012 to 84% in 2022 and the amount spent per student increased from $18,620 to $35,941, many are failing the CUNY admission exams in math or English—or both. Wai Wah Chin, founder of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance of Greater New York believes that charter schools are the way to go, “It’s not that if a kid is not performing, you lower the standards to meet the kids. You raise the kid to meet the standard.” Read more here.
NYC kids not quite ready for college courses
Many students say NYC schools did not prepare them for college courses.