Is 339, Bronx NY - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Is 339

IS 339 is a middle school serving grades six through eight in the South Bronx, in what is known as New York City Geographic District 9. The school draws students from a densely residential neighborhood along Webster Avenue, in a part of the Bronx that has historically been low-income and is now experiencing significant development and population change.

The school's enrollment is small for its grade span, around mid-double-digits per grade. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is predominantly Hispanic with a substantial share of Black students and very few white students. The school does not report specific counts of students with IEPs or English learners, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about its capacity to serve students with disabilities or language development needs.

In academics, the school's profile is uneven across subjects. Mathematics shows a clear progression: sixth graders are below proficiency, but by seventh grade about half the class reaches proficiency, and by eighth grade roughly two-thirds do. This pattern suggests the school may be doing something right in how it sequences or teaches math as students advance. English language arts, by contrast, is consistently weak across all three grades, with proficiency rates below half and dropping further in the upper grades. Science in eighth grade is notably strong, with about four in five students meeting the standard, the school's best result. Testing participation is solid across subjects and grades. State assessment data for social studies is outdated and not currently reported, so the school's current standing in that area is unknown.

Positioned among middle schools in Bronx County, IS 339 sits in the top quartile for overall proficiency when those results are averaged across subjects and grades. That said, the civil rights data shows no information on whether the school is providing adequate services or outcomes for students by demographic groups, and a parent would benefit from asking the school about how it supports different learners.

The broader context matters. District 9, which includes this school, has been implementing two major curriculum mandates handed down by the city. All middle schools in the district must now use one of two approved reading curriculums and are required to adopt EL Education for mathematics. These mandates remove individual school choice in how literacy and numeracy are taught. At the same time, the district's enrollment has dropped substantially over the past several years, though it stabilized in the most recent period. The South Bronx itself is in a growth phase, with new affordable housing under construction and transit improvements on the way, but these changes may not yet have shifted the school's test results or student composition.

The school's location puts it in an urban neighborhood with good transit access and nearby parks, within walking distance of commercial corridors and community institutions, though the immediate area is among the city's lower-income zones. Housing in the school's zip code is notably more affordable than the city average, which may matter for families considering whether to stay in or move to this part of the Bronx.

For a family choosing this school, the math progression and strong science performance are real strengths. The flat and low English results, particularly in the later grades, and the lack of reported demographic breakdowns are gaps worth exploring directly with the school. The curriculum mandates are a given, not a choice.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 635%

School 35% · District 28% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Grade 752%

School 52% · District 42% · ▲ 11 pts above district

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

Grade 863%

School 63% · District 45% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 637%

School 37% · District 32% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 725%

School 25% · District 39% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 825%

School 25% · District 41% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 882%

School 82% · District 38% · ▲ 44 pts above district

▲ 49 pts above state median · ▲ 54 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 820%

School 20% · district not reported

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

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT # 9, 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

Mathematics

Grade 8Lower-income64%Higher-income50%14 pp gap