FAILURE MILLS: NEW YORK SCHOOLS THAT ABJECTLY FAIL BLACK CHILDREN
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FAILURE MILLS: NEW YORK SCHOOLS THAT ABJECTLY FAIL BLACK CHILDREN
Parents choose schools for their children based on the schools' ability to advance their children's education. No parent would knowingly choose the worst-performing school. Yet, prior to 2002, parents lacked access to data that could help them assess school performance. This changed with the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) — legislation that schools resisted for over a decade before its eventual, watered-down implementation.
Before NCLB, and outside of segregation, White parents often had privileged avenues to secure quality public education for their children, frequently aided by school superintendents. These superintendents received Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) funding, ostensibly to improve schools serving Black students. However, instead of using those funds to uplift Black education, they concealed Black students' failures within aggregate data and diverted ESEA resources to predominantly White schools. This misuse of funds and avoidance of accountability underpinned much of the opposition to NCLB, which introduced much-needed accountability measures absent from ESEA.
NCLB mandated that school performance data be publicly available and disaggregated by race, gender, and other characteristics, shining a light on the systemic failures that had long been hidden. Moreover, chronically failing schools were to be identified and closed. Although the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) has since replaced NCLB, the requirement for public data remains — though now often presented in ways that are difficult for scholars, let alone parents, to interpret. Nevertheless, the core purpose of these data is to improve the nation's schools and ensure no child is left behind.
Identifying Schools That Fail Black Children
As an example of how this data can be used, let us examine the worst-performing New York State schools for Black third-grade students in math. The purpose here is not to shame these schools, but to highlight the urgent need for intervention and reform.
For this report, "failure mills" are defined as schools where 64% or more of Black third-grade students scored at Level 1 (the lowest level) on the 2023 state math exam.
Table 1 reveals the disturbing reality:
— all rank among the worst in educating Black third graders.
Table 1
List of NYS Top Schools Acting as Failure Mills for Black Third Grade Math Students
Note. Green (2025) NYS 2023 school report card data.
A Call to Action
This data is deeply troubling and demands urgent attention. Even more disturbingly, some of these schools bear names meant to inspire excellence — including schools named after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and prominent Black scientist Dr. Charles Drew. Others carry titles invoking science, technology, and magnet programs, yet they are failing the very students they are supposed to uplift.
We must no longer tolerate schools that systemically fail Black children. Shining a light on these "failure mills" is a necessary step toward ensuring educational equity and justice. These schools must be the focus of targeted interventions, resources, and accountability — so that Black children receive the quality education they deserve. Parents can spur change by seeing if their children’s schools are listed. If so, call the school leaders and elected officials to demand improvement.
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