Ps 242 Young Diplomats Magnet Academy (the), New York NY

Original Research by School Decision on Ps 242 Young Diplomats Magnet Academy (the)

PS 242 Young Diplomats Magnet Academy serves kindergarten through fifth grade on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, in a neighborhood shaped by dense mixed-use development, strong transit access, and substantial housing investment. The school draws a student body that is predominantly Hispanic and Black, with most families qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Enrollment is small, under two hundred students across seven grades.

The school's magnet designation centers on International Baccalaureate programming, which frames its curriculum around international perspectives and inquiry-based learning. This is the primary academic pathway that distinguishes it from a standard neighborhood elementary school.

Test results show proficiency rates that are below the midpoint for districts in New York County across both English language arts and mathematics. In third grade, math proficiency sits around a third of students, in fourth grade slightly higher. Fifth grade shows the strongest performance across both subjects, with a notable lift in reading. Science proficiency in fifth grade reaches roughly half of students. A parent may want to look into the school further with administrators to understand the supports in place for younger students and how the school plans to build on the fifth-grade momentum.

The neighborhood housing market is expensive, with median home values substantially above the state benchmark, and rents running in the mid-range for the city. Schools in this area are embedded directly into the block fabric, not on separate campuses. The Upper West Side is served by multiple subway lines and is one of the densest and most walkable parts of the city. The district itself recently navigated a major admissions overhaul, with middle school lotteries replacing academic screens, and resolved a prolonged and heated dispute over school closures. These shifts may reshape school stability and access as families advance from elementary to middle school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 330%

School 30% · District 73% · ▼ 43 pts below district

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

Grade 437%

School 37% · District 71% · ▼ 34 pts below district

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

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 65% · ▼ 39 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 328%

School 28% · District 71% · ▼ 43 pts below district

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

Grade 432%

School 32% · District 70% · ▼ 38 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 73% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Science

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 60% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 571%

School 71% · district not reported

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT # 3, 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.