Manhattan Center for Science & Mathematics, New York NY

Original Research by School Decision on Manhattan Center for Science & Mathematics

Manhattan Center for Science and Mathematics serves roughly sixteen hundred ninth through twelfth grade students from across New York City. It is a regular public high school located in East Harlem on Pleasant Avenue, operated by New York City Geographic District 4.

The school draws students who are predominantly from low-income households, with a substantial share qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment is diverse by race and ethnicity: roughly half the students are Hispanic, with the remainder split among Asian, Black, White, and multiracial students. State testing data and graduation rates were not available, so a parent cannot draw on those measures to evaluate academic performance at this school. Without that data, a prospective student or family member cannot directly compare this school's results to others in the city or county.

The school's name and stated mission point to science and mathematics as focal areas. The lack of available program detail means this narrative cannot describe the breadth or rigor of course offerings, whether dual-credit or AP courses are available, or how the school structures its academic pathway. A parent may want to look into what science and math sequences the school offers, how they connect to college preparation, and whether any career pathways or partnerships exist in those fields. These are core questions that the available data does not address.

The neighborhood where the school sits is dense, highly walkable, and embedded within the block fabric of East Harlem. New York City is one of the most walkable cities in the country, with extensive public transit, library and park access, and mixed-use residential and commercial blocks as the standard urban form. The school's location at Pleasant Avenue places it near major transit lines and within a neighborhood undergoing housing growth. Home values in the school's zip code have held relatively steady, while rental costs have risen modestly. Median household income across New York State is in the mid-range relative to national benchmarks, and unemployment in the city is moderate.

District 4, which oversees the school, has been subject to two major curriculum mandates from the city. Beginning in school year 2024-25, all elementary schools in the district shifted to phonics-based reading instruction under the NYC Reads initiative. At the high school level, the city is standardizing math curriculum across the system through NYC Solves, though District 4's middle schools are scheduled for the 2026-27 school year. These changes do not directly affect high school math, but they signal the direction of district and city instruction. Separately, the city reinstated academic screening for selective middle and high schools, ending the pandemic-era lottery system. For families in District 4 considering the broader landscape of middle and high school admissions in the city, the return to merit-based screening and the opening of middle school choice citywide beginning Fall 2025 mean more options but also more competition for top-screened programs.

Without state assessments, graduation data, course offerings, or staffing information, a prospective student and family have limited grounds to evaluate this school's academic strength or fit. The available facts confirm the school's location, enrollment composition, and general mission, but not whether it delivers on that mission or what the day-to-day student experience looks like. A parent would do well to request the school's graduation rate, ask about its science and math curriculum and AP or dual-credit offerings, attend a tour or information session, and speak with current students and families. That direct knowledge will tell you far more than this profile can.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students graduate and prepare for what comes next.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

97.0%Cohort of 413 students · Class of 2021

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

1,253 schools plotted. 14 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Advanced Placement & IB

21 subjects offered · 2023-24

Each card is one AP or IB subject. The headline number is the share of students scoring 3 or higher on the exam — the threshold for college credit at most universities. The bar below each rate shows the underlying distribution across performance levels.

Score:12· no credit345· extremely well qualified

Math and Computer Science

Calculus AB

49 tested

61.2%

scored 3 or higher

Calculus BC

28 tested

71.4%

scored 3 or higher

Computer Science Principles

54 tested · Grade 10

79.6%

scored 3 or higher

Statistics

93 tested

66.7%

scored 3 or higher

Sciences

Biology

115 tested · Grade 10

80.9%

scored 3 or higher

Chemistry

56 tested

76.8%

scored 3 or higher

Physics 2

1 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism

31 tested

25.8%

scored 3 or higher

Physics C: Mechanics

51 tested

49.0%

scored 3 or higher

History and Social Sciences

Comparative Government and Politics

81 tested

61.7%

scored 3 or higher

Macroeconomics

56 tested

35.7%

scored 3 or higher

Psychology

61 tested

11.5%

scored 3 or higher

U.S. History

64 tested

96.9%

scored 3 or higher

World Languages and Cultures

German Language and Culture

1 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Spanish Language and Culture

41 tested · Grade 10

92.7%

scored 3 or higher

Spanish Literature and Culture

17 tested · Grade 10

58.8%

scored 3 or higher

Arts

Art History

23 tested

13.0%

scored 3 or higher

Other

Language and Comp

60 tested

68.3%

scored 3 or higher

Literature and Comp

324 tested

45.7%

scored 3 or higher

U S Government and Politics

81 tested

59.3%

scored 3 or higher

World History

411 tested · Grade 9, Grade 10

31.1%

scored 3 or higher

New York Regents Exams

4 courses reported · 2024-25

End-of-course exams required for a New York Regents diploma. Each row shows the cohort size and the share of students scoring at the proficient level or higher.

Course	Students tested	% proficient
Ela	483	91.0%
Social Studies	436	91.0%
Math	393	83.0%
Science	22	32.0%

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.