Few districts can match the socioeconomic and demographic ills that afflict New York City.
One in eight pupils in the city schools had been in the United States three or fewer years. But for all the troubles, the state comes out fairly well on indicators of children's well-being, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Compared with other states, New York fares better than average in child death rate, teenagers' violent death rate, teenagers' birthrate, and high school dropout rate. Where the state falls down is on the proportion of children in poverty, the percentage of children in single parent households, and worst of all, juvenile violent-crime arrests. As part of the standards effort, state officials have taken steps to rid the system of its two-track testing system.