New York Avenue School, Atlantic City NJ

Original Research by School Decision on New York Avenue School

New York Avenue School is a regular public school in Atlantic City, serving students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the Atlantic City School District, and for parents looking at this school, the first and most defining fact is its academic proficiency picture, which is the central story.

On New Jersey’s state assessments, the share of students scoring proficient or above is low across every tested grade and subject. In math, the proportion of students meeting the state’s proficiency benchmark in grades three through eight falls in the very low single digits or low teens from one grade to the next, with every grade showing results well below what would typically be expected. In English language arts, the pattern is similar. Third grade, fifth grade, and seventh grade show somewhat higher rates than the other grades, but still at a modest level, and most grades see proficiency rates in the low single digits or below a tenth of students. In science, the results at both grade five and grade eight are similarly low. The school’s overall proficiency index, a combined measure across subjects and grades, places it in the bottom quartile among the districts in Atlantic County. A parent considering this school should be aware that by these state metrics, the school is serving a student population that is facing very substantial academic challenges.

The student body is predominantly Black and Hispanic, with a very small White population and a modest share of Asian students. A very large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a common measure of economic need. Enrollment by grade is reasonably steady, with each grade from kindergarten through eighth grade having a similar number of students, plus a pre-kindergarten classroom. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report, and data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the record.

Located at 411 North New York Avenue, the school sits within Atlantic City itself. The city is best known as a seaside resort and gaming destination, with a Boardwalk and casino corridor that draw tens of millions of visitors annually. But the residential reality for families living here is different from the tourist image. Atlantic City’s year-round population has been declining over the long term, and its neighborhoods away from the Boardwalk are older residential streets with a mix of small businesses and institutions. The casino and hospitality industry dominates the local economy, and the city’s housing market reflects its status. At the district level, a bond referendum was on the ballot in 2024, a publicly reported event that indicates active consideration of capital investment in the district’s facilities.

The school itself is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. No specific programs, disciplinary data, or course access information were available to describe extracurricular offerings or specialized tracks. For a parent, the core takeaway is that New York Avenue School is educating a student body with high economic need, and its state test results reflect a student population that is largely not yet meeting grade-level benchmarks in reading, math, or science. A family evaluating this school would want to look closely at what academic supports, intervention programs, and instructional strategies the school has in place, and to see how the school serves its students beyond the test scores. The school is part of the Atlantic City district, so any district-wide initiatives or facility improvements from the recent bond referendum could also be relevant to a family’s decision.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 312%

School 12% · District 21% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 38 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 45%

School 5% · District 20% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 41 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 52%

School 2% · District 19% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 41 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 62%

School 2% · District 18% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 77%

School 7% · District 17% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 88%

School 8% · District 12% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 312%

School 12% · District 27% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 42%

School 2% · District 32% · ▼ 30 pts below district

▼ 53 pts below state median · ▼ 38 pts below county median

Grade 510%

School 10% · District 34% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 44 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 69%

School 9% · District 35% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 45 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

Grade 729%

School 29% · District 37% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 810%

School 10% · District 36% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 48 pts below state median · ▼ 40 pts below county median

Science

Grade 56%

School 6% · District 11% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 83%

School 3% · District 4% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

This schoolAtlantic City School District, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.