2026 Data analysis · Birth-to-5 · Two separate datasets
2026 NYC early-childhood survey: family and teacher feedback
Understand Birth-to-5 survey feedback for NYC early-childhood centers, including what it can and cannot tell you about 2-K, 3-K and pre-K.
By NYC School Ratings Team · September 15, 2026 · 7 min read
The takeaway
Families sound positive. Teacher feedback is much harder to see.
Both Birth-to-5 datasets are here. Strong family scores need participation context; missing teacher scores must never become a negative judgment about a center.
For families looking at 2-K, 3-K or pre-K, test-score rankings are the wrong tool. Relationships, communication and the everyday learning environment are more relevant questions. The Birth-to-5 family and teacher surveys provide two distinct views. We analyzed 1,243 family-file records and 1,057 teacher-file records. The most important finding is as much about what is not published as what is.
Family feedback: positive scores with a ceiling effect
Among the 1,037 records reporting Family Satisfaction with Child’s Education, the median score is 100. Parent-Teacher Trust also has a median of 100 among 1,039 reporting records; Outreach to Parents is 98. That is positive feedback from respondents, but it leaves little room for a simple ranking to discriminate among centers. A perfect published score is not a guarantee about every family’s experience.
Birth-to-5 families · 2026 · Median published score across reporting records, not a percentage of NYC respondents.
1,037 reporting records · middle half: 98–100
1,039 reporting records · middle half: 97–100
1,039 reporting records · middle half: 95–100
1,039 reporting records · middle half: 93–99
1,037 reporting records · middle half: 91–100
1,009 reporting records · middle half: 82–100
| Topic | Median | Middle 50%* | Reported / file records |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family Satisfaction with Child's Education | 100 | 98–100 | 1,037 / 1,243 |
| Parent-Teacher Trust | 100 | 97–100 | 1,039 / 1,243 |
| Outreach to Parents | 98 | 95–100 | 1,039 / 1,243 |
| Parent Involvement in School | 96 | 93–99 | 1,039 / 1,243 |
| School Facilities and Services | 96 | 91–100 | 1,037 / 1,243 |
| Building Families' Capacity as their Child's Primary Advocate | 94 | 82–100 | 1,009 / 1,243 |
*25th–75th percentiles of published record scores; this is spread, not a confidence interval. Missing values are excluded separately for each topic. Source: official Birth-to-5 families summary sheet ↗. Equal weight per source record, including unmatched records.
The family file needs a participation lens
There are 432 family-file records with fewer than ten responses. The Birth-to-5 summary does not supply response rates, so we cannot tell parents what share of eligible families those counts represent. We show the count, keep the rate as “Not reported” and flag small counts. Our under-ten caution is a product convention, not a claim about the official suppression threshold. Missing values can have more than one explanation.
Birth-to-5 families · 1,037 records with a published score. Bands are descriptive, not school-quality grades.
1 of 1,037 reporting records
3 of 1,037 reporting records
5 of 1,037 reporting records
31 of 1,037 reporting records
304 of 1,037 reporting records
693 of 1,037 reporting records
Teacher feedback: included does not mean fully visible
The teacher dataset is imported in full, but only 151 of its 1,057 records contain any published topic score. The other 906 contain none. There are 992 records with fewer than ten teacher responses. These counts do not prove why a particular score is missing. Small staff teams and reporting rules are important context, but the file itself should not be used to diagnose the reason for every blank.
Percentage of each Birth-to-5 file's records with any published topic score—not a response rate.
1,040 of 1,243 records have scores; 203 have none
151 of 1,057 records have scores; 906 have none
What the published teacher subset can tell us
Within the much smaller reporting subset, Early Childhood Instruction and Peer Collaboration have median scores of 100. Classroom Behavior is 76 and Teacher Influence is 82.5. These describe reporting records only—not all NYC early-childhood teachers or centers. Guidance, Safety and Strong Core Instruction have no published topic scores anywhere in this teacher summary, so we do not draw a bar or infer a result for those topics.
Birth-to-5 teachers · 2026 · Median published score across reporting records, not a percentage of NYC respondents.
144 reporting records · middle half: 96.8–100
146 reporting records · middle half: 94–100
142 reporting records · middle half: 95.3–100
146 reporting records · middle half: 72–90.8
143 reporting records · middle half: 58.5–88.5
144 reporting records · middle half: 55.8–86.3
| Topic | Median | Middle 50%* | Reported / file records |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early Childhood Instruction | 100 | 96.8–100 | 144 / 1,057 |
| Peer Collaboration | 100 | 94–100 | 146 / 1,057 |
| Instructional Leadership | 100 | 95.3–100 | 142 / 1,057 |
| Teacher Influence | 82.5 | 72–90.8 | 146 / 1,057 |
| Classroom Behavior | 76 | 58.5–88.5 | 143 / 1,057 |
| Quality of Student Discussion | 69 | 55.8–86.3 | 144 / 1,057 |
*25th–75th percentiles of published record scores; this is spread, not a confidence interval. Missing values are excluded separately for each topic. Source: official Birth-to-5 teachers summary sheet ↗. Equal weight per source record, including unmatched records.
A center-wide result is not a 2-K result
A provider may offer 2-K, 3-K and pre-K under one canonical school record. Birth-to-5 feedback belongs to the center, not automatically to one age group or classroom. We match by official center identifiers and existing school relationships. A shared address or a similar name is not enough. The survey also does not establish current seats, admissions priority or automatic progression into kindergarten.
Use the data when you visit
Ask how staff describe a child’s day, how caregivers communicate concerns and how teachers adapt activities for different developmental stages. If the teacher panel has no published scores, ask about staff support and continuity directly rather than assuming a problem. For a high family score, ask what families value most. The most useful result is a more focused conversation about the center your child would actually attend.
Questions parents ask
Are the family and teacher datasets both on profiles?
Yes, wherever their official identifiers match. They have separate cards, sources and response counts. A teacher record with no published scores is shown as a coverage limitation, not omitted or scored zero.
Can I use this to rank 2-K providers?
Not as an academic or 2-K-specific ranking. The feedback is center-wide, coverage varies and many family scores cluster at the ceiling. Use it alongside program fit and a visit.
Sources, scope and limitations
Analysis snapshot: September 15, 2026. School/center medians are our analysis of the official summary sheets; individual-question citywide percentages and borough participation rates are attributed separately to NYCPS. Topic coverage varies. Published scores reflect respondents and do not establish cause, admissions availability or academic quality.
- Official source for this page ↗
- NYC School Survey data downloads ↗
- 2026 scoring technical guide ↗
- Our methodology and matching rules
Audit the five source files
- K–12 families ↗
SHA-256: a53cfece9c20be0123c592679e8a5b3985b4e5ec10f03575d1911bf528b37885
- K–12 teachers ↗
SHA-256: 205cdbbcff8c323f2b07345fea70a4740b58a10d1a0fc2f390b42eea35808a29
- K–12 students ↗
SHA-256: 3185e1e7e4ba9c0de4fd7b7c9e91b7c11f15f6f8ecaac14cd199a582efdadf8e
- Birth-to-5 families ↗
SHA-256: bd24392caf95e084978cc6ee29ad07a496615a355e6be7c93e77619b34d680a4
- Birth-to-5 teachers ↗
SHA-256: b9e4ca80a82c535d20eac8963879d086001eb7daddea08c65d8fa1f4f4c64a64
Continue the analysis
2026 New York state test results: preliminary release and next update →
What the preliminary 2026 ELA, math and science release means, and why final school-level results are not yet used in NYC School Ratings.
2026 NYC School Survey: results and what they mean for families →
Explore NYC family, teacher, student and early-childhood survey results, with participation context and links to individual school feedback.
2026 NYC family survey: participation and school experience →
See how family survey participation changed across NYC boroughs and how to use school-level feedback on education, communication and trust.
2026 NYC teacher survey: teaching, collaboration and leadership →
Understand teacher survey feedback on instruction, professional development and leadership, and how to read it alongside family and student results.
2026 NYC student survey: a new baseline for school experience →
Explore the new 2026 student survey baseline, including school safety feedback, and understand why previous-year comparisons are not valid.
School survey methodology, sources and limitations →
How NYC School Ratings links official survey results to schools, preserves missing values and separates respondent groups, years and rating calculations.
Put the findings in context
- NYC Pre-K, 3-K & Kindergarten Admissions 2025: Which Schools Are Most Competitive?
Combine center experience with admissions context; survey scores do not indicate available seats.
- Best NYC Kindergartens 2026: Top-Rated Programs by Borough
Plan the transition to kindergarten without treating Birth-to-5 feedback as a K–12 academic rating.
See the data on a profile: Hebrew Educational Society of Brooklyn’s Birth-to-5 feedback. Check the respondent group and participation; these are examples, not endorsements or representative citywide samples.
Independent analysis of public NYCPS data. Report a correction.