Ps 243 Weeksville School (the), Brooklyn NY

Original Research by School Decision on Ps 243 Weeksville School (the)

PS 243 Weeksville School is a small public elementary school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the Weeksville neighborhood of Brooklyn. The school enrolls a tight-knit group of about that size for its grade band, and the vast majority of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a very high-poverty community. The student body is predominantly Black, with a sizable Hispanic share and a small population of Asian students.

The school's recent state test results show persistently low proficiency across all tested subjects and grades. In mathematics, third-grade students achieved a proficiency rate roughly on par with half the cohort, but fourth grade dropped sharply to proficiency rates in the low teens, and fifth grade recovered modestly to the low-to-mid twenties. In English language arts, performance is similarly challenged. Third graders reached proficiency rates in the low forties, fourth graders in the high twenties, and fifth graders in the low forties. Fifth-grade science proficiency fell into the high twenties. When measured against other schools in Kings County serving comparable grade bands, PS 243's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, asking specifically about the factors behind the low-to-mid-grade math and overall proficiency trends and what instructional changes or support structures are in place to strengthen student achievement.

The school is part of New York City Geographic District 16, which covers much of Bedford-Stuyvesant and surrounding neighborhoods. Within the district, a mandatory reading curriculum, Into Reading, has been in place since the 2023-24 school year, replacing the prior model in which principals selected their own materials. At the same time, New York State's class-size reduction law is phasing in smaller class sizes, with priority given to high-poverty schools like PS 243, so families should expect incremental reductions in class size as the mandate takes effect.

The broader neighborhood context is dense urban Brooklyn, where walkability is strong, transit is extensive, and development pressure is high. Housing values have risen substantially and continue to climb. The community has access to parks, the library system, and major transit hubs, but families also face the cost-of-living pressures that come with living in one of the city's most developed and sought-after boroughs.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 68% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 414%

School 14% · District 60% · ▼ 45 pts below district

▼ 44 pts below state median · ▼ 52 pts below county median

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 44% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 342%

School 42% · District 67% · ▼ 25 pts below district

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

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 63% · ▼ 36 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 54% · ▼ 12 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 34% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 596%

School 96% · district not reported

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

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #16, 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.