New York City Public Schools shared results from its redesigned 2026 school survey this week, according to Chalkbeat. The new questions produced some striking figures, such as how often students say classmates vape. But officials gave a warning. These numbers cannot be compared with past years.
The Education Department rewrote the student survey in summer 2025, its official results page said. The team used simpler words and more direct questions. Officials said the change was so big that the 2026 results form a new baseline, not a trend. So a figure like vaping shows a starting point. It does not show whether the problem grew or shrank.
The department made a similar point about lower scores. Its redesign explainer said, "You may notice lower favorability scores on some items compared to prior years. This does not necessarily mean things got worse." The explainer said lower scores often reflect students answering more directly and precisely under the new language, not a change in classroom reality.
Officials cut the student survey to 61 questions from 79 the year before, according to Chalkbeat. They also added new questions about vaping, bathroom access matching gender identity, and connecting learning to the real world. The changes seem to have helped participation. More than 357,000 students in grades 6-12 took the 2026 survey, up 3 points from last year's student participation rate, officials said this week.
On vaping, more than a third of students said it is common. Chalkbeat reported that 19% said students vape very often and 16% said often. Those answers add to about 35%, which is more than a third. Answers differed by group. About 39% of female students said peers vape often or very often, compared with 32% of male students. Answers also differed by grade. Just 19% of sixth graders reported vaping as an issue, compared with 45% of ninth graders, who saw the most. Schools varied even more. Nearly three-quarters of students at LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and the Performing Arts reported frequent vaping, according to Chalkbeat. Just 11% did at University Neighborhood High School.
The two official sources gave different end dates for the survey. The launch announcement said it opened February 9, 2026 and would run through April 1. The official results page later said it ran from February 9 through April 30, 2026.
Because the survey changed so much, the Education Department said the 2026 results should not be compared with prior years. They will serve as the baseline going forward. The department also said it plans to revise the remaining family and teacher surveys in future years.