Soundview Academy for Culture and Scholarship, Bronx NY

Original Research by School Decision on Soundview Academy for Culture and Scholarship

Soundview Academy for Culture and Scholarship is a middle school serving grades six through eight in the Bronx, located in the northeastern part of the borough. The school serves a student body that is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial share of Black students as well. A very large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the neighborhood. Enrollment sits at a modest level for its grade span, with sixth grade as the smallest cohort and eighth grade the largest.

State test results show attainment below the midpoint within Bronx County's districts across both math and English language arts. In math, proficiency drops notably as students progress through grades, with sixth grade performing measurably higher than seventh grade, and eighth grade substantially lower. In English language arts, proficiency rates are similar across grades six, seven, and eight, all in the mid-to-upper-thirty percentile range. Science proficiency in eighth grade falls below math and ELA. The school's overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint among Bronx County's districts, though this reflects a relatively low median for the county. Attendance to testing was high across all grades, indicating that these results reflect the school's full student body rather than a subset of participants.

Participation rates in the state assessments were consistently strong, suggesting the school maintains good testing administration and student attendance on assessment days.

The school operates within New York City Geographic District 8, which covers much of the Bronx. District 8 has experienced sustained enrollment decline since the late 2010s, driven by both a decrease in school-aged residents in the neighborhoods served and more families choosing charter schools. The district has thousands of excess seats, meaning some schools operate with capacity that exceeds enrollment. Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, District 8 implemented the Amplify Desmos Math curriculum districtwide in middle schools as part of the citywide NYC Solves mandate, and adopted a mandated literacy curriculum for middle grades as part of the NYC Reads expansion. These curricular shifts represent a change from prior practice where schools had more autonomy in material selection.

The Bronx as a place is economically mixed and physically varied, ranging from dense urban corridors to quieter residential neighborhoods. The borough is in a growth phase for affordable housing, with significant development projects and zoning changes opening new pathways for multi-unit buildings. Health care, particularly Montefiore Medical Center, anchors the local economy. The area is well served by transit, including subway lines and Metro-North, with planned expansions adding new stations. Housing values have risen modestly in recent months, though remain lower than the state benchmark.

A parent considering this school may want to look into the school's specific approach to literacy and math instruction, since the state-mandated curriculums are newly in place, and ask about supports for students who need additional help in these foundational areas, given that proficiency rates in both subjects are below the county median, particularly in eighth grade math.

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Academic performance

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

New York Regents Exams

2 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
Social Studies	14	79.0%
Math	10	80.0%

Math

Grade 659%

School 59% · District 38% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 751%

School 51% · District 43% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Grade 831%

School 31% · District 39% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 637%

School 37% · District 36% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 736%

School 36% · District 40% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 838%

School 38% · District 43% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Science

Grade 831%

School 31% · District 34% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT # 8, 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 7Lower-income34%Higher-income56%21 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income46%Higher-income89%43 pp gap