Success Academy Sues NY State Over AP Exam Data

Success Academy, the largest charter school network in New York City, has filed a federal lawsuit against the New York State Education Department (NYSED). The dispute centers on what the academy describes as a violation of its First Amendment rights. The conflict began when the state refused to authorize the College Board to release Advanced Placement (AP) exam results to U.S. News & World Report for its yearly high school rankings.

Attorney Eric Grannis, who represents Success Academy and is married to its CEO, Eva Moskowitz, explained the impact. Grannis emphasized that this refusal prevents the publication of factual news, impacting the academy’s reputation due to a lack of recognition for its students’ achievements.

U.S. News & World Report factors in AP exam performance in its rankings. However, changes this year by Commissioner Betty A. Rosa led to the exclusion of New York’s AP results from the rankings. The decision affected Success Academy’s standing, causing a drastic drop from 11th to 196th due to missing AP data, substituted by International Baccalaureate (IB) data for other schools.

“All of this critical information about the incredible success of its students has been suppressed,” Grannis stated in opposition to the NYSED’s actions.

The lawsuit argues that NYSED’s policy restricts the academy from sharing true, independently verified data on its students’ academic success. It claims that the information, vital for accurate rankings, was withheld to benefit traditional public schools. Statistics highlight that less than 25% of high school graduates nationally pass an AP exam, whereas 95% of Success Academy’s 2026 cohort passed three or more exams, with 60% passing seven or more.

Since its founding in 2006, Success Academy has served over 22,000 primarily low-income, Black, and Hispanic students. The network continually outperforms wealthier suburban districts, as evidenced by state test scores showing a 96% pass rate in math and 92% in English Language Arts (ELA) in 2025.

NYSED defends its stance citing student data privacy laws, expressing concern about data commercialization. Grannis warns that this interpretation could block any media from reporting on metrics like reading scores if deemed profitable. He suggests that NYSED’s policy aligns with public school interests and teachers unions that resist accountability.

Success Academy has often clashed with teachers unions, particularly regarding the use of public school spaces. Charter schools’ public funding is based on enrollment, creating financial competition. Recent legal actions by the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) against Success Academy cite concerns about compliance with class-size laws.

Grannis argues the state’s suppression of data reflects a policy against standardized assessment transparency. He contends it aims to obscure district schools’ underperformance by limiting comparable academic data.