On average, schools led by empowerment principals had marginally higher passing rates and improved more in math than schools citywide in nearly every grade.
For example, eighth-graders in empowerment schools saw their passing rate in math increase 7.3%, to 49.6%, compared with a 6.7% jump to 45.6% in schools citywide. And in reading - where the city experienced steep decreases across the board - empowerment schools as a whole saw slimmer drops in scores in every grade except sixth.
Chancellor Joel Klein created the empowerment school program at the beginning of the 2006 school year to give principals more independence in spending and instruction. A total of 332 principals signed on.
Although the difference between empowerment school averages and those of other city schools is only a few percentage points, the Ed Department sees the scores as a signal that giving principals more autonomy works.
"These students, along with their teachers, principals and parents, put in a lot of hard work this past school year, and it shows," said schools spokeswoman Melody Meyer. "As all principals and teachers become empowered in the coming school year, we hope all New York City students will build on this success."
Seventy empowerment school principals have decided to leave the program next year, choosing a different support model. Other schools signed on, bringing empowerment schools up to 481 - nearly 34% of city schools.
But all principals, no matter which model they chose, were given more discretion over how they spend their funds next year - a decision criticized by those who fear principals are being given too much power.
Principal Melessa Avery of Public School 273 said her empowerment designation helped her lift special education students' reading scores by 1.9%. Avery said she assessed data about her students and selected programs like the "100 Book Challenge" to meet their specific needs - something she couldn't do before.
"I was able to redesign what they were getting," she said. "They were getting what they needed."
