What is New York State Testing like in NYC?
Students in public schools across New York City will be taking state tests in April and May to show that they are on Grade Level for all skills in ELA and in Math. These assessments are crucial to help educators understand scholar progress and gaps and to help parents better support their scholar’s development. They also allow all stakeholders to see how scholars compare with their peers across the state. Across NYC, in particular, 56.3% of scholars passed the New York State Test in ELA last year, and only 49.1% passed in 2024, according to the Education Department of New York. And this is one of the many reasons why Classical Charter Schools are an excellent options for any parents in NYC who want to give their scholars the best chance at a bright academic future.
At Classical Charter Schools, we take pride in the outstanding state test results we achieve year after year and in the joy that scholars feel in their own achievement. Specifically, during the 2024-2025 school year, 96% of our scholars passed the New York State ELA exam, and 98% passed the New York State Math exam. The journey to these results was intentional and, as you can imagine, involved many academic milestones. However, what you may not know is that this path also included joy at every step to ensure scholars stayed motivated during the most challenging times of the tutoring season and invested in their own success. Here are a few ways we made sure joy was part of every school site’s tutoring season and made our results amongst the best in NYC.
Build a Whole School Incentive System
Every Classical school builds a tutoring incentive system that tracks growth and celebration in each classroom. At SBC IV, this year’s school-wide competition was inspired by the Marvel Universe. Scholars in grades 3–8 became “Agents of Earth 616,” earning Infinity Stones based on their performance in tutoring and test prep, as well as their use of ‘work habits’ like strong annotations, underlining evidence in the text, and applying the process of elimination.
Each scholar could earn up to four points per test prep block, contributing to both class and grade-wide totals. Grades competed against each other, with winners announced daily and weekly. Winners got bragging rights, superhero-themed prizes like movie parties or dodgeball showdowns during fitness, and, most importantly, the pride of seeing consistent growth among their peers. Classrooms were also decorated with their chosen superhero, and bulletin boards tracked progress in real-time to keep everyone informed. Even our K–2 scholars got in on the action by cheering on the older grades and voting in the door-decorating contest.
Alongside each school site’s competition, we continued to use our tutoring ticket system, where scholars earned tickets for demonstrating academic habits in ELA and Math. Tickets were raffled off weekly and could be traded for exciting opportunities.
Host a Student Appreciation Week
In the final days before state exams, school sites hosted Joy Week, a week-long celebration of scholars’ effort, focus, and grit. Each day brought a new surprise designed to keep them motivated and excited. Some highlights from this year included:
Message in a Balloon – Scholars received a motivational message inside the balloon to keep the momentum going.
“Go Get a 4” Snack Station – Scholars scoring 80%+ on practice problems earned tasty rewards, such as gummies, cookies, and chips. Scholars also spun a colorful prize wheel for treats and supplies after showing strong tutoring effort. All classrooms were able to close out the week with an extra social activity during snack time.
Bracelet Day – Every scholar received a motivational wristband as a tangible reminder of their potential.
These events allowed us to reinforce the habits, effort, and positive self-talk that our scholars needed as they approached their exams.
Be Sure to Engage Families
Joy didn’t stop at our school doors. Each day, our school directors made positive phone calls home to celebrate scholars showing the most growth, strongest work habits, or the fastest improvements. These calls shifted the narrative around testing season. Instead of anxiety and pressure, families heard about the progress, persistence, and personal bests their scholars were reaching. It was a powerful way to bring caregivers into the celebration—and reinforce that joy and rigor went hand in hand at Classical.