School Scores NYC

Ratings Data for Public K-8 Schools

Best All-Around Elementary Schools

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Google a school and you'll be moments from seeing data on its students' state test results. Typically, the share of students that achieved a Level 3 or 4 (what the state deems 'proficient') in English or Math.

But what if you're looking for a more comprehensive measure of a school's quality? The NYC Department of Education (DOE) publishes a set of three 'category scores' that give a more well-rounded evaluation, though outside of official city sources, they are rarely published. I think this is the type of data many parents wish they had to pair with test results. This is especially true for elementary schools (K-5) where parents may not yet want to obsess over academic results. That's why I show these category scores prominently throughout the site.

What are Category Scores?

The NYC DOE published a set of three 'category scores' for public schools for the 2023-24 year:

  • Instruction and Performance: "state test results, including student growth and performance; how students performed in core courses; how well students are prepared for middle school; and survey questions about instruction..."
  • Safety and School Climate: "how well the school establishes a culture where students feel safe, challenged to grow, and supported to meet high expectations; how well school leadership inspires the school community; and how well teachers participate in the continuous improvement of the school community."
  • Relationships with Families: "how well the school forms effective partnerships with families and whether those relationships are based on trust and respect."

These three scores are the backbone of the NYC School Quality Snapshot report. They are high-level ratings that aggregate metrics from different sources: student results (though far more that just raw test scores), attendance measures, and all the responses to the massive NYC School Survey completed by parents, students (grades 6-12), teachers, and staff.

These exact scores haven't always been the city's rating system, and as recently as the prior year, there were seven category scores rather than three. I don't know whether the city will continue to use the current format, but it would be great to see how these specific measures change over time, the same way we do with student test results.

I suspect because the category scores are inconsistent year-over-year and specific to NYC, many national ratings sites choose not to use or display them prominently.

What is the All-Around Score?

For ease of browsing and sorting overall school quality, I created an All-Around Score that combines all three of the city's category scores. It's a very simple weighted average:

  • 50%: Instruction and Performance
  • 25%: Safety and School Climate
  • 25%: Relationships with Families

The weighting is my personal choice to emphasize the value of academics while giving strong influence to other aspects of the school experience. If you'd rather just look at category scores individually, each is displayed in the School Quality section of every profile on the site.

Info: Many schools don’t have an All-Around Score because they are missing at least one category score. The non-academic category scores are typically missing because a school did not have enough responses to the NYC School Survey. For example, the Success Academy charter schools tend to have very high Instruction & Performance scores but lack the other two.

Best All-Around Elementary (K-5) Schools by Borough

There's no arguing that a single metric can accurately reflect a school's all-around quality. That said, it can signal that a school is worth looking into if you hadn't already considered it for high academic performance or some other appealing quality. Consider this a look at what may be the city's most well-rounded school experiences for students and families.

These are each borough's top five elementary schools by citywide All-Around Score percentile:

Manhattan

1. P.S. 150 (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 100.0%

Neighborhood: Battery Park City-Lower Manhattan

2. P.S. 009 Sarah Anderson (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 99.1%

Neighborhood: Upper West Side

3. P.S. 183 Robert L. Stevenson (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 97.4%

Neighborhood: Lenox Hill-Roosevelt Island

4. East Side Elementary School, PS 267 (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 97.3%

Neighborhood: Lenox Hill-Roosevelt Island

5. P.S. 042 Benjamin Altman (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 96.5%

Neighborhood: Chinatown

Brooklyn

1. P.S. 321 William Penn (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 98.0%

Neighborhood: Park Slope-Gowanus

2. P.S. 029 John M. Harrigan (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 96.2%

Neighborhood: Carroll Gardens-Columbia Street-Red Hook

3. The School For Future Leaders (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 95.6%

Neighborhood: Sunset Park East

4. P.S. 172 Beacon School of Excellence (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 95.1%

Neighborhood: Sunset Park West

5. P.S. 397 Foster-Laurie (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 95.1%

Neighborhood: Prospect Lefferts Gardens-Wingate

Queens

1. P.S. 094 David D. Porter (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 99.5%

Neighborhood: Douglas Manor-Douglaston-Little Neck

2. P.S. 098 The Douglaston School (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 99.2%

Neighborhood: Douglas Manor-Douglaston-Little Neck

3. P.S. 079 Francis Lewis (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 98.5%

Neighborhood: Whitestone

4. P.S. 196 Grand Central Parkway (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 98.3%

Neighborhood: Forest Hills

5. P.S. 066 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 98.0%

Neighborhood: Richmond Hill

Staten Island

1. Naples Street Elementary School (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 99.8%

Neighborhood: Grasmere-Arrochar-Ft. Wadsworth

2. P.S. 005 Huguenot (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 99.7%

Neighborhood: Annadale-Huguenot-Prince's Bay-Eltingville

3. P.S. 35 The Clove Valley School (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 98.9%

Neighborhood: Grymes Hill-Clifton-Fox Hills

4. P.S. 8 Shirlee Solomon (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 98.8%

Neighborhood: Great Kills

5. P.S. 003 The Margaret Gioiosa School (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 98.6%

Neighborhood: Annadale-Huguenot-Prince's Bay-Eltingville

The Bronx

1. Concourse Village Elementary School (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 99.4%

Neighborhood: Melrose South-Mott Haven North

2. P.S. 204 Morris Heights (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 96.3%

Neighborhood: University Heights-Morris Heights

3. P.S. 067 Mohegan School (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 93.6%

Neighborhood: East Tremont

4. P.S. 024 Spuyten Duyvil (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 92.7%

Neighborhood: North Riverdale-Fieldston-Riverdale

5. Samara Community School (Scores Profile)

All-Around Score Percentile: 91.5%

Neighborhood: Crotona Park East

Closing Thoughts

Each borough has outstanding schools on this metric - all have at least two elementary schools at or above the 95th citywide percentile, and that's excluding many high-performing charter schools and K-8 options. At the top end, and more generally, all-around quality scores are more evenly distributed around the city than academic achievement.

Of course, several schools are just exceptionally good no matter how you cut it. Almost every borough's #1 school is also exceptionally high-performing on academics (98th+ percentile), as are most schools on this list - it is a big component of calculating the All-Around metric after all.

But there are notable exceptions to this tight pairing of top test results and top all-around quality. These six schools on the list do not have a Performance Score (a proxy for good state test results in English and Math) above the 90th percentile citywide:

These schools might be overlooked by families that have only seen their test results. This is the reason I show both raw academic performance and a more well-rounded rating side-by-side on the site. For many parents, you'd be very happy to send your kindergartner(s) to an elementary school with a thriving culture and emphasis on family connection even with an academic profile in the 70th or 80th percentile.

So be sure to check out the All-Around Score throughout the site and dig into the city's category scores. They are unique data points to New York City and could help you quantify some of the more subjective aspects of school quality. From there, let your taste and needs lead the way!