Is 181 Pablo Casals, Bronx NY - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Is 181 Pablo Casals

IS 181 Pablo Casals serves middle grades in the Bronx, a borough in the midst of substantial growth and investment. The school enrolls students from neighborhoods distributed across the borough; the student body is predominantly Black and Hispanic, with a large majority of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the surrounding community. The school is part of New York City Geographic District 11.

In math proficiency, the school shows a grade-level progression. Sixth graders reached proficiency at a moderate rate, while seventh graders performed notably stronger, with the gap between those two grades substantial enough to suggest deepening competency as students advance. Eighth grade math assessment data was not reported. In English language arts, proficiency was consistent across sixth and eighth grades at similar levels, with seventh graders performing somewhat higher. These results place the school's overall proficiency index in the top quartile relative to districts in Bronx County, a meaningful position given the economic and demographic challenges that many Bronx schools navigate. Science assessment at the eighth grade was not reported.

The school's participation rates in testing were solid, ranging from the low eighties to low nineties across grades and subjects, indicating good engagement with the assessment process. A parent may want to look into further details with the school about the absence of eighth grade math and science testing data to understand whether this reflects scheduling, staffing, or assessment timing.

The Bronx itself is shifting rapidly. Major health care, institutional, and real estate investment is concentrating in the borough, with significant affordable housing development underway along transit corridors. The neighborhood where the school sits is served by subway access and is within walking distance of commercial and community life. The locale is walkable enough for residents to conduct daily errands without a car, and the borough contains substantial parkland and civic institutions.

At the district level, literacy and math instruction are undergoing standardization through the NYC Reads and NYC Solves initiatives. All elementary schools now use approved phonics-based reading curriculums, and all middle schools must adopt city-approved math curriculums by fall 2027. These changes reshape how core subjects are taught. Beginning in the 2025-26 school year, reading intervention programs are also being standardized across all schools to support struggling readers.

The school operates as a regular public middle school with no specialized selection process. A student here follows a traditional departmentalized middle school pathway in a setting shaped by recent citywide curriculum mandates and within a borough experiencing economic growth and new housing development.

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Academic performance

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

New York Regents Exams

3 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
Science	155	37.0%
Math	152	57.0%
Social Studies	99	73.0%

Math

Grade 663%

School 63% · District 40% · ▲ 23 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 773%

School 73% · District 51% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 45% · ▼ 45 pts below district

▼ 37 pts below state median · ▼ 37 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 666%

School 66% · District 44% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 770%

School 70% · District 47% · ▲ 23 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 863%

School 63% · District 52% · ▲ 11 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 36% · ▼ 36 pts below district

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

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #11, 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 5Lower-income46%Higher-income63%17 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income64%Higher-income80%17 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income65%Higher-income87%22 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income59%Higher-income74%15 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income55%Higher-income85%31 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income61%Higher-income71%10 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income71%Higher-income80%9 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income6%Higher-income20%14 pp gap