A nice NYT article about a highly successful public school in NYC.  Not surprisingly, rigorous assessments are critical:

Perfection may seem a quixotic goal in New York City, where children enter school from every imaginable background and ability level. But on the tests, P.S. 172, also called the Beacon School of Excellence, is coming close — even though 80 percent of its students are poor enough to qualify for free lunch, nearly a quarter receive special education services, and many among its predominately Hispanic population do not speak English at home.

In 2009, the 580-student primary school, tucked between fast-food restaurants and gas stations in a semi-industrial strip of Fourth Avenue, topped the city with its fourth-grade math scores, with all students passing, all but one with a mark of "advanced," or Level 4. In English, all but one of 75 fourth graders passed, placing it among the city's top dozen schools.

On average, at schools with the same poverty rate, only 66 percent of the students pass the English test, and 29 percent score at an advanced level in math, according to a New York Times analysis of Department of Education statistics. And though it is less well known, P.S. 172 regularly outperforms its neighbors in Park Slope and Carroll Gardens, where parents raise hundreds of thousands a year for extra aides and enrichment.

The school's approach, while impressive in its attention to detail, starts with a simple formula: "Teach, assess, teach, assess," said Jack Spatola, its principal since 1984.

Mr. Spatola attributed the coaches and other extra help to careful budgeting and fighting for every dollar from the Department of Education; the school's cost per pupil, in fact, is lower than the city's average.

P.S. 172 has scored highly for years

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Brooklyn School Scores High Despite Poverty

By SHARON OTTERMAN

Published: April 25, 2010

www.nytimes.com/2010/04/26/education/26test.html