If you are a NYC public school parent, did you know that your struggling student is entitled to receive academic assistance for free?  That’s right.  So, before you spend money on a private tutor or tutoring service take a peek at this blog post about academic intervention services (AIS).

Across New York State, according to education law, school districts are required to provide academic intervention services to students who score below the state designated performance level on state assessments and/or who are at risk of not achieving the State learning standards.  Based on scores of state assessment tests, students fall into one of the performance levels that determines their eligibility for academic interventions. 

In NYC according to school allocation memo (SAM) #4, students in grades 3-8 with English Language Arts or Math scores meeting level 1 are eligible for AIS. High school students are eligible for AIS if their regents scores for English Language Arts or Math are below 65 out of a possible 100 points. 

Funding for AIS in NYC public schools today is a tax levy allocation.  The SAM details these funds and establishes a category for “ELA/Math Student Support” which we know as AIS.  Previously, federal Title IV funds were used in conjunction with tax levy to support these students which aligns with State guidance indicating there are several other federal and state funds that could be used to support AIS along with tax levy.   

Total AIS funding in this school year is equal to $35.2 million with 1,455 schools receiving money.  Last year’s allocation was similar and equal to $34.9 million.  Despite the overall allocation increase, students are getting slightly less AIS support than last year on a per child basis.  Today, the AIS per child amount is $22, which is roughly $2.50 less than last year’s per child allocation of $24.49 although roughly the same number of schools received AIS allocations (1,453). It is unclear why the AIS per child amount is lower this year other than to keep the overall allocation amount at a status quo level.

AIS Today – Children Left Behind?

Over time, the number of level 1 students has fallen from a high of more than 150,000 ten years ago to just over 71,000 in 2023.  These students represented 36% of all tested students in 2013 and now are only 23% of all those tested.  Although it’s encouraging that academic intervention service is a state requirement, it’s still concerning that students in NYC who are only partially proficient are frozen out. 

As per State guidelines,  all students who score below level 3 are eligible to receive academic intervention services, but NYC only allocates AIS funding based on numbers of level 1 students.  In NYC, ELA level 2 students who are not currently considered for AIS, but are still only partially proficient, represent more than 79,000 students in 2023.  Trends for numbers of level 2 ELA students have fallen over time but there continues to be more children in this category than in level 1. Who knows if a little bit of AIS would propel them into level 3 full proficiency?

With respect to math results, historically there have been fewer level 2 students than level 1 students. Over the last decade, the numbers have dropped by almost 50% similar to the falling trends for ELA results.  However, in 2023 there were over 72,000 students who were only partially proficent in math but according to the SAM, were not counted in the allocation for funding.

Generally speaking, I would like to think that schools will see to it that students who are only partially proficient (level 2), can also fully meet standards however NYC appears to have burdened schools with supporting these students without an AIS allocation.  Unless and until NYC’s interpretation of eligibility becomes an issue, the question remains if partial proficiency at level 2, which implies a measure of non-proficiency, should also meet the eligibility standard for academic intervention funding?  Currently there does not seem to be a legal barrier against using the allocation to support level 2 students but sadly NYC does not commit funding through its allocation methodology.

Right of Refusal – More Children Left Behind?

In some school districts there has been a growing opt-out movement which could reduce the ability to provide AIS.  Opting out means that parents have the right to refuse the state assessment test on behalf of their children.  There are many great arguments against the proliferation of standard testing such as testing bias, or the contention that the tests somehow contribute to school segregation, and the tests themselves become the focus of education.  However, there is also a hidden trap with test refusal.  If students don’t take the test, performance levels and AIS needs cannot be assessed from a standard state-wide point of view.  There is also less of an opportunity to make inferences about curriculum effectiveness. I encourage ongoing debate and consideration of this issue if it opens the door for testing improvements or reliable alternative performance assessments.

AIS Accountability.

AIS is a state directive whose requirements are barely met by NYC public schools due to its current interpretation  of the state mandate.  Effectiveness is further diminished by the de minimis per child allocation of only $22.  Despite the funding boost from an economic need index, is this a per child amount that fully supports a valuable menu of intervention services?  It’s also unclear why the allocation methodology includes a complicated economic need index as opposed to simply accounting for all students who are not yet reaching proficiency.  From what I can assess there are at least 150,000 more students who need AIS.  This amounts to another $3.4 million that can be split funded between more than one fund source.

Thankfully, the separate allocation category of these funds provides a method to track the usefulness of the money and is also a way to hold schools accountable for how funding is spent. Yet despite this, there remains a temptation for fiscally strapped schools to tap into this allocation.  A school might try to plug budget holes not only because the fund source is tax levy which can be used for anything but also because the allocation category itself is not specifically called “Academic Intervention Services”  which might suggest the funding is discretionary to be used indiscriminately.  NYC children are in the best city in the world and we should be unafraid to commit to give them the best education as well.