The third annual report on the educational status of New York State-supported elementary schools and secondary schools for the 1989-90 school year is presented. Based on legal mandates, the report addresses enrollment trends; indicators of student achievement in reading, writing, mathematics, science, and vocational courses; graduation, college attendance, and employment rates; and information concerning teacher and administrator preparation, turnover, inservice education, and performance. All such information is displayed, to the extent practicable, on a statewide basis, for four community types, and by racial/ethnic group and gender. Community types include New York City, large city districts, other city districts, and non-city districts. During the 1989-90 school year, approximately 3.0 million students attended New York schools. It is concluded that certain subgroups of the state student population are disproportionately represented in the various measures of academic success and failure. Large, urban school districts continue to place below other public school districts in the State in almost all measures of academic performance. The patterns of inequality of educational outcomes and the breadth of these inequalities between minority and non-minority children have not changed since this report was first published in 1988. Fifty-seven figures and 132 tables are included. A description of data sources is appended. (TJH)