Ps 51 Elias Howe, New York NY - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Ps 51 Elias Howe

PS 51 Elias Howe sits in Midtown Manhattan on West 44th Street, serving a densely urban neighborhood where residential and commercial spaces blend vertically and pedestrian life anchors daily routines. The school is a regular public elementary serving prekindergarten through fifth grade, with an enrollment small to moderate for its grade band. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with substantial Black, Asian, and white representation. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic composition of the neighborhood and the families the school serves.

State testing results from the most recent year show proficiency rates that sit modestly below the midpoint among New York County districts, when proficiency is averaged across tested subjects and grades. In math, third grade shows proficiency around the lower end, with fourth grade performing more solidly and fifth grade dipping again. English language arts follows a similar pattern, with third and fourth grades showing proficiency in the mid-40s to mid-50s range and fifth grade notably stronger. Science proficiency in fifth grade, the only grade tested, is lower. The school is administering tests with less than full participation in some grades—test participation in the higher grades falls noticeably short of complete coverage—which is a variable worth understanding with the school directly, as it affects how representative reported scores are of the full grade cohort.

The school does not serve middle or high school grades, so graduation data does not apply. Data on special education enrollment and English learner population were not available in the school's profile, despite these populations being relevant to understanding school composition and support structures. A parent interested in how the school serves students with identified disabilities or multilingual learners may want to ask the school directly about staffing, resource allocation, and specific programs in these areas.

The neighborhood around PS 51 reflects New York City's character as a mixed-use, walkable urban environment with extensive public transit access. Housing values in the 10036 zip code are well above state and national benchmarks, and rents have risen year-over-year. The area is in a sustained housing-growth phase citywide, though the immediate Midtown location is already densely developed. Schools in this part of Manhattan are typically embedded within the dense block fabric rather than sited on separate campuses, and civic life centers on transit access, libraries, parks, and street-level commerce and dining.

As a District 2 school, PS 51 sits within a New York City geographic district where Gifted & Talented admissions have undergone significant change in recent years. The city eliminated the standardized entrance exam for kindergarten in favor of teacher nominations and a lottery system, expanding seats and making placement more dependent on luck than in the past. Families considering early elementary enrollment should be aware that G&T pathways, a historic feature of District 2 schools, have become more competitive and uncertain. An incoming mayoral administration has signaled intent to reshape or eliminate kindergarten gifted admissions entirely, adding further uncertainty to long-term program structure.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 346%

School 46% · District 81% · ▼ 35 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 459%

School 59% · District 79% · ▼ 21 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 78% · ▼ 32 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 346%

School 46% · District 80% · ▼ 34 pts below district

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

Grade 456%

School 56% · District 78% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 563%

School 63% · District 81% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Science

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 67% · ▼ 27 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 591%

School 91% · district not reported

even with state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT # 2, 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income30%Higher-income72%42 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income52%Higher-income63%10 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income58%Higher-income71%13 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income25%Higher-income83%58 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income43%Higher-income88%44 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income39%Higher-income59%20 pp gap