Klein to executives: School reforms work and need your support

Schools Chancellor Joel Klein made the case to city business leaders this morning that his school reforms are spurring real progress and should be supported.

Speaking to a group of corporate and investment executives assembled by the group Partnership for New York City, Klein asked them to throw their weight behind the changes that Klein and Mayor Michael Bloomberg hope to continue in the city.

“This community has got to make education reform a priority,” Klein said.

Klein presented an analysis of New York City student standardized exam gains compared to students around the state.

Neither the data nor the argument — that city students are improving at a faster rate than their peers statewide, proving that gains under mayoral control are real — are new.

But Klein has rarely made the argument in this much depth. The statistical analysis he presented today was prepared over the summer and was rolled out to the public this morning.

“I do this in the hopes that you hold me, the DOE, anyone who is privileged enough to become the chancellor, accountable,” Klein said.

I’ll have a more complete account of Klein’s presentation later, but in the meantime, the presentation, as well as the DOE report on which it was based, are below the jump.

A New View of New York City School Performance, 2002-2009

New York City School Performance – October 2009