2026 Data analysis · Student voice
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.
By NYC School Ratings Team · September 15, 2026 · 7 min read
The takeaway
Feeling safe and feeling supported are different experiences.
The 2026 student results open a new baseline. Use them to ask about daily experience, not to claim a school improved or declined since 2025.
A parent can learn a lot by asking where a child feels comfortable—and whether an adult notices when they need help. The redesigned 2026 student survey offers separate measures for safety, relationships and support. We examined 1,123 summary records, of which 1,062 report topic scores. The evidence suggests a richer conversation than simply asking whether students like their school.
Support deserves as much attention as safety
Across reporting records, the median Safety topic score is 82. Student-Teacher Trust is 73 and Personal Attention and Support is 61. Those numbers do not measure the same thing, and we should not treat their difference as an estimate of unmet need. They show why a family should ask about relationships and individual attention even when a school’s safety feedback is reassuring.
K–12 students · 2026 · Median published score across reporting records, not a percentage of NYC respondents.
1,062 reporting records · middle half: 77–88
1,062 reporting records · middle half: 74–86
1,062 reporting records · middle half: 69–78
1,062 reporting records · middle half: 65–76
1,062 reporting records · middle half: 56–67
1,062 reporting records · middle half: 52–62
| Topic | Median | Middle 50%* | Reported / file records |
|---|---|---|---|
| Safety | 82 | 77–88 | 1,062 / 1,123 |
| Preventing Bullying | 80 | 74–86 | 1,062 / 1,123 |
| Student-Teacher Trust | 73 | 69–78 | 1,062 / 1,123 |
| Guidance | 70 | 65–76 | 1,062 / 1,123 |
| Personal Attention and Support | 61 | 56–67 | 1,062 / 1,123 |
| Academic Press | 57 | 52–62 | 1,062 / 1,123 |
*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 students summary sheet ↗. Equal weight per source record, including unmatched records.
The setting matters inside a school
The official citywide report offers a more specific lens: 92% favorable responses for feeling safe in classrooms, 87% in hallways and cafeterias, and 84% in locker rooms and bathrooms. These are individual-question results, not the summary Safety topic and not our school-record medians. The eight-point classroom-to-locker-room/bathroom difference points to a practical conversation about supervision and reporting concerns in different spaces.
Official citywide individual-question favorable responses, 2026. Not the school-level Safety topic score. Source: NYCPS citywide report.
One median cannot describe every school
The distribution of Personal Attention and Support scores shows why a citywide headline is not enough. Your child will attend a particular school, not the median school in the file. Read the matched profile and ask how students find a trusted adult, how concerns are followed up and how the school recognizes a student who is quietly struggling.
K–12 students · 1,062 records with a published score. Bands are descriptive, not school-quality grades.
72 of 1,062 reporting records
787 of 1,062 reporting records
147 of 1,062 reporting records
32 of 1,062 reporting records
20 of 1,062 reporting records
4 of 1,062 reporting records
A new questionnaire means a new starting line
Changes to the 2026 instrument break a simple comparison with earlier student survey scores. A lower number than last year could reflect changed questions or scoring rather than a worse experience. This article deliberately contains no prior-year student line chart, red decline badge or improvement claim. Future comparisons must start with questions and populations that are genuinely comparable.
Keep the neighborhood out of the classroom measure
The neighborhood safety index describes police complaints around a location. Student survey feedback describes experience inside school. Neither can stand in for the other. A concern about the commute calls for one set of questions; a concern about bullying, bathrooms or adult support calls for another. Seeing both measures on a profile should help parents separate those decisions, not blend them into one fear or reassurance.
Questions parents ask
Why is there no 2025 comparison?
The student instrument changed substantially for 2026. A direct year-over-year comparison could mistake a measurement change for a change in school experience.
Why do the citywide safety questions differ from the profile score?
The citywide figures are individual-question favorable-response percentages. Profiles show published topic summaries, which combine question information. They are different measures.
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 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.
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
- Best NYC Middle Schools 2026: Top Programs for Grades 6-8
Add student support and belonging to your middle-school research.
- Diamonds in the Rough: 15 Top-Rated NYC Public Schools in High-Crime Neighborhoods (2026 Data)
Distinguish students’ experience inside school from neighborhood crime statistics.
See the data on a profile: P.S. 015 Roberto Clemente’s community 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.