2026 NYC School Survey: results and what they mean for families

First, separate participation from visibility

The official citywide report counts 871,154 respondents across families, students and teachers, excluding Birth-to-Five and support staff. Our five summary files contain 7,039 source records. Those are school- or center-level observations, not 7,039 people or distinct schools. The same provider can appear in more than one file. Even a record that exists may contain no published scores, so file size alone overstates how much feedback a parent can read.

Family feedback is positive—but that makes small differences less useful

In the K–12 family file, the median satisfaction-with-education score is 94 among 1,792 reporting records. Parent-teacher trust has a median of 97. When scores cluster near the ceiling, a one- or two-point gap is a poor reason to remove a school from a shortlist. Look instead for a pattern across communication, involvement and facilities, then check how many people responded. These are medians of published school records, not the share of all NYC parents who are satisfied.

*25th–75th percentiles of published record scores; this is spread, not a confidence interval. Missing values are excluded separately for each topic. Source: official K–12 families summary sheet ↗. Equal weight per source record, including unmatched records.

Teacher feedback adds a different set of questions

Teacher results are more uneven across topics. Instructional leadership has a median published score of 92; teacher influence has a median of 68. Those measures are not interchangeable, and a 24-point separation is not a causal explanation. It is a reason to ask how staff participate in decisions, how collaboration works and how leadership responds to classroom needs. A single teacher composite would erase this distinction.

Student voice starts a new baseline

The student instrument changed substantially for 2026. Treat this release as a starting point, not proof of improvement or decline since last year. Among 1,062 reporting records, the median Safety topic score is 82, while Personal Attention and Support is 61. Feeling physically safe and feeling individually supported are different experiences. Both deserve a place in a school visit.

Birth-to-5 is included—and its gaps matter

Both Birth-to-5 files are included. The family file has 1,040 records with at least one published score out of 1,243. The teacher file has only 151 out of 1,057. That does not establish that the other centers are poor quality, or that their teachers are dissatisfied. It means the public summary does not provide a usable score for those records. A trustworthy profile needs to say that clearly rather than show zero or an alarming red grade.

Use the findings to build a better shortlist

Start with the programs, location and practical needs that matter to your family. Open a school profile and read the survey section one respondent group at a time. Choose one encouraging signal and one question to explore. A high score is an opening for a conversation—not a guarantee about your child’s experience. The survey layer complements academic data and neighborhood safety; it does not replace either.