Ps 44 Marcus Garvey, Brooklyn NY

Original Research by School Decision on Ps 44 Marcus Garvey

PS 44 Marcus Garvey is a public elementary school serving prekindergarten through fifth grade in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The school is small, with an enrollment distributed across all grade bands from Pre-K through fifth grade. A very large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic circumstances of the neighborhood.

The school's recent state test results show a pattern of low proficiency across tested grades and subjects. In third-grade English and math, about one in seven students meet proficiency standards. Fourth-grade results are somewhat stronger but still modest, with about one in three students meeting proficiency in English and about three in eight meeting proficiency in math. Fifth grade shows the highest performance of the tested grades: about half of fifth-graders meet proficiency in English, though proficiency in math and science drops substantially lower in that grade. The school participates fully in state testing, with full participation rates across all grades.

When compared against other schools in Kings County that serve similar grade bands, PS 44 sits in the bottom quartile on overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. This is a factual position that a parent may want to explore further with the school, including whether the school has supports in place for early literacy and numeracy, what professional development teachers receive around reading and math instruction, and whether there are particular challenges the school is working to address.

The school does not report data on chronic absenteeism, English learner population counts or rates, or special education enrollment, so a reader cannot assess those dimensions from available sources. A parent interested in the school's support for students learning English as an additional language or those with identified disabilities would want to seek that information directly.

Williamsburg itself is a dense, walkable residential and commercial neighborhood with strong transit access and active street life. The neighborhood is part of a broader Brooklyn housing boom, with significant new residential construction. The median home value in the 11221 zip code is substantially higher than the state benchmark, reflecting gentrification pressures in the neighborhood. Families considering this school should understand the cost of housing in the area and the demographic shifts underway.

At the district level, Geographic District 13 serves central and northern Brooklyn. Beginning in 2021, all of the district's middle schools moved to lottery-based, screen-free admissions with reserved seats for low-income students and those experiencing housing instability. Families in the zone should be aware this structure will shape middle-school entry. Additionally, the Dr. Susan S. McKinney Secondary School of the Arts was truncated from a 6-12 to a 9-12 school in 2024-2025, removing a middle-grades arts pathway that had previously been available.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 313%

School 13% · District 71% · ▼ 58 pts below district

▼ 45 pts below state median · ▼ 57 pts below county median

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 64% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 53% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 313%

School 13% · District 72% · ▼ 59 pts below district

▼ 39 pts below state median · ▼ 51 pts below county median

Grade 431%

School 31% · District 68% · ▼ 37 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 31 pts below county median

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 63% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 47% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 574%

School 74% · district not reported

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

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #13, 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.