Is 318 Math Science & Technology Through Arts, Bronx NY

Original Research by School Decision on Is 318 Math Science & Technology Through Arts

IS 318, located in the Bronx on Prospect Avenue, is a middle school serving grades six through eight. The school's name reflects its curricular identity: it organizes math, science, and technology instruction through arts-based pedagogy. The enrollment is small, hovering around three hundred students, distributed roughly evenly across the three grades.

The student population is nearly entirely low-income. Almost all families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school serves a majority Hispanic student body, with a substantial Black population, and very few students of other backgrounds. The school's data on English learners and students receiving special education services was not available.

On state math assessments, the school's proficiency results sit well below the state median. Across sixth, seventh, and eighth grades, proficiency rates range in the low teens to low thirties. Seventh-grade proficiency in math is somewhat higher than sixth or eighth grade. English language arts proficiency follows a similar pattern, running in the low to mid twenties. On the eighth-grade science test, proficiency falls below a quarter of students.

When placed against other districts in Bronx County, the school's overall proficiency index positions it in the bottom quartile. A parent may want to investigate what support structures the school offers for students working below proficiency, and what trajectory the school has shown over time, since only current-year data was available.

The school operates within New York City Geographic District 12, which has been subject to two major curriculum mandates in recent years. Beginning in 2023, all elementary schools in District 12 were required to adopt the Into Reading program, a phonics-based literacy approach. In the 2024-2025 school year, middle schools in the district, including the grade levels served by IS 318, shifted to Illustrative Mathematics, a problem-based curriculum designed to build conceptual understanding rather than procedural fluency. Starting in fall 2026, elementary schools will also transition to Illustrative Mathematics. These are district-wide, lasting changes to instruction.

The broader Bronx context shows a borough in active growth and investment. The neighborhood around the school is part of a mixed-use urban landscape where residential streets, commercial corridors, and parkland intersect. The area is walkable, with transit access via subway. Housing values in the school's zip code have been rising. Major employers in the borough include health systems like Montefiore Medical Center and public institutions. The Bronx is experiencing significant new residential development, particularly affordable housing, with major projects bringing new families to the borough.

IS 318 offers no data on attendance, discipline, staffing levels, or extracurricular programs. The school's website, if present, was not included in the available materials. A parent considering this school would benefit from visiting in person and asking directly about arts integration in the classroom, how the school supports students performing below grade level in math and reading, and what the experience has been with the new curriculum mandates.

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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
Science	15	53.0%
Math	12	17.0%

Math

Grade 618%

School 18% · District 25% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 732%

School 32% · District 36% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 828%

School 28% · District 38% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 623%

School 23% · District 31% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 727%

School 27% · District 36% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 824%

School 24% · District 36% · ▼ 11 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 822%

School 22% · District 28% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 818%

School 18% · district not reported

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

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #12, 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.