Ps 316 Elijah Stroud, Brooklyn NY

Original Research by School Decision on Ps 316 Elijah Stroud

PS 316 Elijah Stroud is a neighborhood elementary school serving pre-K through fifth grade in the Prospect Heights area of Brooklyn. The school enrolls a student body that is majority Black and Hispanic, with about half of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch; the enrollment is stable at a moderate size for this grade band. Reading proficiency across grades three through five is solid, with third and fourth graders performing at roughly two-thirds proficiency and fifth graders reaching above ninety percent on the state assessment. In math, the school shows similar patterns: third and fourth graders land near seventy percent proficiency, while fifth-grade math proficiency approaches the mid-eighties. Science proficiency in fifth grade is lower, in the upper sixties. Overall, the school's proficiency index across tested subjects places it in the top quartile among schools in Kings County, a meaningful strength.

The strength in reading by fifth grade is particularly notable. Fifth-grade ELA proficiency sits in the mid-nineties, which is well above the level most schools in the county achieve. This suggests the school is building reading skills effectively as students progress through the grades, and it aligns with Brooklyn's broader shift toward structured literacy instruction under the citywide literacy mandate that took effect in fall 2024.

The school operates within New York City Geographic District 17, which has been managing a sustained residential population decline and consequent enrollment pressure over multiple years. This context shapes near-term conditions: the district is working through excess capacity and school reorganizations. District 17 has adopted a city-mandated reading curriculum focused on the science of reading, so families should expect consistent, phonics-grounded literacy instruction. State law also requires all New York City schools to reduce class sizes to twenty students in pre-K through grade three by 2027-28, a change that will restructure classroom conditions district-wide.

The Classon Avenue location puts PS 316 in a neighborhood with substantial development activity, dense transit access, and walkable street life. Housing values in the Brooklyn 11238 zip code have appreciated and rents are moderate to high by national standards, reflecting the desirability of the broader Prospect Heights area. The neighborhood is home to cultural anchors like the Brooklyn Museum and Prospect Park, and major employers in healthcare and education are accessible within the borough.

A parent considering PS 316 should view this as a school with solid fundamentals in literacy and math and clear momentum in reading skills by the upper grades. The school serves a diverse, economically mixed student body and sits in an active neighborhood. State testing data was not available for earlier years, so it is not possible to assess whether this year's results represent sustained performance or recent improvement. Data on English learner enrollment and special education enrollment was not provided. The school's proximity to major transit and walkable retail means family logistics for morning drop-off and afternoon pickup are straightforward, and the neighborhood offers reasonable access to parks and cultural institutions that round out a child's life outside the building.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 371%

School 71% · District 64% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 471%

School 71% · District 58% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 584%

School 84% · District 50% · ▲ 33 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 371%

School 71% · District 61% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 475%

School 75% · District 58% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 595%

School 95% · District 60% · ▲ 34 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

Science

Grade 568%

School 68% · District 35% · ▲ 32 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 591%

School 91% · district not reported

even with state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #17, 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 3Lower-income61%Higher-income83%22 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income61%Higher-income91%31 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income91%Higher-income100%9 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income62%Higher-income83%21 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income61%Higher-income83%22 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income74%Higher-income97%22 pp gap