In the New York Times, Kate Taylor writes about New York City’s transfer schools and debates over the best way to hold the schools accountable for results.

The city’s Education Department now runs 51 such schools, serving 13,000 students.

The schools are small, and many of them work with community-based organizations to offer counseling, college and career advising, and internships. They have a significantly better track record than other high schools in graduating students who are two or more years behind. But because students often enter transfer schools with few credits, it can take them six, seven or even eight years in total to graduate.

Now advocates and city education officials fear the schools may be in danger.

On Monday, the New York Department of Education considered what to do about transfer schools that fail to graduate 67 percent of their students in six years or less. The Department rejected an earlier proposal that transfer schools that fail to meet the benchmark for three years be put into receivership. Instead, it has been decided that “The commissioner will partner with the district to determine the most appropriate interventions for the school, which could still include receivership.”

Peter Meyer wrote about the creation of transfer schools and other small schools in New York City in “New York City’s Small-Schools Revolution.” More about transfer schools is available here.

— Education Next