The top reported proficiency rate is 67% in English language arts. The lowest is 0% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Boerum Hill School for International Studies (the)
Boerum Hill School for International Studies sits in Brooklyn's rapidly developing Downtown Brooklyn neighborhood, serving grades six through twelve in a regular public school setting. The school's enrollment is moderate for its grade band, with the cohort growing through the middle grades and then smaller high school classes, a pattern common in many district schools where some students transfer elsewhere or leave the system.
The school's academic performance shows a mixed but improving picture across tested grades. In sixth and seventh grade math, proficiency rates sit in the mid-range, while seventh grade English is notably stronger. Eighth grade is the school's clearest strength: the proficiency rate in English language arts is substantially higher than in lower grades, while also outpacing the school's own math results at the same level. This is the opposite of what many schools see, and it suggests either a real shift in teaching quality or support by eighth grade, or shifts in cohort composition. The school has test data for eighth grade ELA and sixth and seventh grade math and ELA, but no reported results for eighth grade math or science; a parent may want to clarify with the school whether these grades are not assessed, not administered, or whether the data simply was not reported.
When compared to other district schools in Kings County, the school's overall proficiency index falls below the midpoint. This places it among schools serving similar populations but suggests that academically, relative to county district peers, this is not a high-performing school by test measure alone. The graduation rate and chronic absenteeism data were not available, so a parent looking at high school outcomes would want to ask the school directly about how many students complete on time and how attendance looks.
The student body reflects Brooklyn's diversity. White students make up the largest share of enrollment, followed closely by Hispanic students, with a meaningful Black student population and smaller Asian representation. About half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a solidly middle-income range relative to many city schools but indicating real economic diversity among the student community. The school does not report counts or rates for students with IEPs or English learners in the available data, which limits a picture of how well the school supports these populations; again, direct conversation with admissions or a program director would fill this gap.
Boerum Hill's location in Downtown Brooklyn, near the Atlantic Av-Barclays Center transit hub, places it in one of the city's most rapidly changing neighborhoods. The area is experiencing major residential growth and rising property values as mixed-use development continues. Families moving to the neighborhood should expect a walkable urban environment with strong transit access and rising housing costs, though also understand that the school serves a cross-section of income levels, not just affluent new arrivals.
The school is part of NYC Geographic District 15, which has deliberately reshaped its middle school admissions to use a lottery system with priority for low-income students, English learners, and students in temporary housing, rather than academic screens. This policy, in effect since the 2019-20 school year, has made district middle schools more economically and racially mixed and has produced measurable gains in test performance and reductions in suspensions according to publicly reported analyses. For families considering Boerum Hill as a sixth grade option, this lottery-based approach means admissions are not determined by prior test scores or grades; the school and its peers are open to a broader range of students than they might have been under the earlier screening system.
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