By Philip Newman
Some 31 percent of Queens high school students surveyed said teachers expect too much of them— the highest such percentage of any borough, a new survey found.
When it came to getting into the high school they wanted to attend, Queens students, however, were tops in the city at 61 percent, according to a poll conducted for a child advocacy organization released last week in Manhattan.
The results of the survey presented a picture that suggested many New York City high schoolers are not optimistic about graduating.
Such problems as computer shortages, deteriorating schools, getting into the high school of choice and even drug selling and gang violence all contribute to students' perceptions of their school experience, according to the poll.
The opinions of 1,001 students were obtained for a survey conducted for the Citizens Committee for Children, a child advocacy organization. The results were anonymous: No student was asked his or her name.
The survey of students from every borough portrays a sometimes disturbing picture, not only of drug use, gang threats and violence but also of the inequality of teaching between students who do not plan to go to college and their college-bound classmates.
The study, titled “Class Dismissed: The Diminished Potential of NYC High School Students,” was conducted by the polling firm Belden Russonello & Stewart through interviews with students outside schools last January.
About 31 percent of Queens students said their teachers' expectations were too high. In Staten Island the figure was 26 percent followed by 21 percent in the Bronx and Brooklyn and 9 percent in Manhattan. In Queens, 49 percent of those questioned said teacher expectations were about right.
Some 50 percent of Queens students said they do not use a computer in school — the highest such figure in the city. It contrasted sharply with Manhattan at 14 percent. In the Bronx, 31 percent said they did not use computers compared to 34 percent in Brooklyn and 43 percent in Staten Island.
An overwhelming 78 percent of students in Queens schools said there were more than enough or at least sufficient computers in their schools. There was no explanation of the disparity between perceived availability of computers and reported non-use in Queens classrooms by half of those polled.
To the question of whether schools have improved over the past five years, 27 percent of Queens students polled said yes and 34 percent said schools had worsened, while 37 percent said they were unchanged. Except for students in Staten Island, it was the most pessimistic opinion to that question citywide.
As for teachers who care about students, 49 percent of Queens students questioned rated teachers excellent to good in that category, compared with 69 percent in the Bronx, 60 percent in Brooklyn, 65 percent in Manhattan and 46 percent in Staten Island.
Students in smaller high schools gave higher ratings to their teachers and were more confident of graduating than those in larger schools. Students of larger schools rated the physical condition of their schools as much better than students at smaller schools.
Students who plan to work or join the military are much less optimistic about graduating than college-bound students, the survey showed. Fewer than half of non-college-bound students said they will graduate while seven in 10 college-bound students felt assured of getting a diploma.
The Queens high schools where students were polled were:
Academy of American Studies, August Martin, Aviation High, Bayside, Benjamin Cardozo, Flushing, Forest Hills, Francis Lewis, Grover Cleveland, Hillcrest, Arts and Business, Jamaica, John Bowne, Martin Van Buren, Middle College Charter, Newtown, Queens Vocational, Renaissance, Richmond Hill, Robert F. Kennedy Community, Robert F. Wagner Jr., Institute for Arts & Tech, Thomas A. Edison, Townsend Harris and William C. Bryant.
Reach contributing writer Philip Newman by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 136.
