GothamSchools — daily independent reporting on NYC public schools

Just two schools got F’s on their progress reports this year, bearing out reports that Schools Chancellor Joel Klein would tout high scores when he released this year’s grades today.

Eighty-four percent of elementary and middle schools earned A’s, up from 38 percent last year, promising to stir up questions about how useful the progress reports are for parents and principals.

A few other highlights: Of the lowest-performing schools, most opened under Klein’s watch. Nearly 5 percent of schools earned so much extra credit for helping their neediest students that their scores exceeded 100 percent. And the schools that the city tried to close last year before being thwarted by a lawsuit all earned A grades.

Klein is offering his interpretation to reporters right now at a press conference, and we’ll bring updates from there later in the day. For now, take a look at the complete list of progress report grades and add your observations to mine:

• Ten of the 12 schools with the lowest raw scores opened since Klein became chancellor in 2002. The two schools that received F’s are Washington Heights Academy, which opened in 2004, and Harlem Link Charter School, which opened in 2005. This was the first year the schools had enough test results to give them progress reports. (more…)