Sunset Park Prep, Brooklyn NY - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Sunset Park Prep

Sunset Park Prep is a middle school serving grades six through eight in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn. It is a regular public school within New York City Geographic District 15, which has recently shifted its middle school admissions from academic screens to a lottery system designed to increase diversity. That means entry to Sunset Park Prep is by lottery, with priority given to students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, English learners, and those in temporary housing.

The school's student body is predominantly Hispanic, with substantial economic need. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment sits at a few hundred students, relatively balanced across the three grade levels.

State test results from the most recent year available show low proficiency across the board. In sixth and seventh grade math and English language arts, proficiency hovers around the forty percent mark. Eighth grade English proficiency remains in that range, but eighth grade math proficiency drops sharply. Science testing data for eighth grade was not reported, and older social studies data from more than a decade ago is not a reliable indicator of current performance. When measured against all districts in Kings County, Sunset Park Prep's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. A parent may want to look into what academic supports and interventions the school is putting in place to help students advance, particularly in math as they move through the grades.

The school sits in Sunset Park, a Brooklyn neighborhood known for active commercial corridors along Fifth and Eighth Avenues mixed with residential blocks. Brooklyn is a highly walkable borough with strong transit access and dense amenities. The housing market in the school's zip code is moderately priced relative to other parts of Brooklyn and reflects modest year-over-year appreciation. The neighborhood draws families seeking more affordable housing while remaining accessible to Manhattan and the rest of the city.

District 15 eliminated academic admission screens for all its middle schools beginning in the 2019-2020 school year, a policy that remains in place. Research through 2022-23 documented that the lottery-based system reduced segregation and correlated with middle schoolers in the district scoring above the citywide average on state tests, though those gains do not appear to be reflected uniformly across all schools in the current data. The district has also undertaken rezoning of elementary schools to address overcrowding and increase access to sought-after schools, and in 2025 is considering further changes to elementary admissions. These ongoing structural shifts are part of the context in which families are choosing schools.

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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	132	37.0%
Math	42	98.0%

Math

Grade 639%

School 39% · District 56% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 740%

School 40% · District 63% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 89%

School 9% · District 25% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 639%

School 39% · District 61% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 740%

School 40% · District 63% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 64% · ▼ 24 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 47% · ▼ 47 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 861%

School 61% · district not reported

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #15, 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 6Lower-income35%Higher-income83%48 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income41%Higher-income30%11 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income40%Higher-income40%1 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income36%Higher-income83%47 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income40%Higher-income40%0 pp gap