About the Results

Beginning in school year 2005-06, New York State required all public schools to administer standardized exams in various subjects in grades three through eight. In the most recently completed school year (2007-08), however, the only BCF-affiliated public charter elementary schools serving state-tested elementary grades were the Brighter Choice Charter School for Boys and the Brighter Choice Charter School for Girls. (In 2007-08, the Albany Community Charter School served grades K-3; the Henry Johnson Charter School opened September 2007 serving kindergarten and first grade.)

The charter middle schools in Albany – KIPP Tech Valley, Albany Preparatory, and Achievement Academy – are designed to serve grades five through eight when fully enrolled. These schools served grades 5-7 in 2007-08 as they progressed in their plans to expand by one grade level per year after first opening in 2005-06. Because Albany district middle schools are designed to serve grades six through eight, and none serve the fifth grade, comparisons between charter middle schools and district middle schools in Albany are appropriate at the sixth and seventh grades (comparisons of test results for the eighth grade will be possible in the next school year as the charter middle schools begin serving that grade as well).

In addition to state tests, all BCF-affiliated charter schools internally measure student academic progress annually. The nationally-normed TerraNova exam (CTB/McGraw-Hill) is typically administered at the beginning and the end of each school year to provide feedback to school administrators on academic progress.

Highlights of some of the academic successes among the Albany charter schools on state exams can be viewed by clicking on the links at left.