The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in Math. The lowest is 38% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Helen M Marshall School
Helen M. Marshall School is a public elementary school serving kindergarten through fifth grade on Northern Boulevard in Corona, Queens, part of New York City Geographic District 24. The school sits inside a dense, walkable neighborhood where early-20th-century brick rowhouses line the side streets and Roosevelt Avenue hums with vendors, bodegas, and the rumble of the elevated 7 train overhead. Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, with the Queens Museum, New York Hall of Science, and Queens Zoo, is the neighborhood's dominant civic anchor. For day-to-day life, the 7 train's stops at 103rd Street–Corona Plaza and Junction Boulevard place the school within a highly connected urban grid.
The student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic, reflecting Corona's character as one of New York City's most densely Latino neighborhoods, drawing families with roots across Latin America. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a sign of the working-class, immigrant economic base that defines the neighborhood. Data on English learner enrollment and students with IEPs was not available in the data provided, so a parent whose child would fall into either category should ask the school directly about services and support.
On the New York State Testing Program assessments, the picture is mixed and worth examining grade by grade. In third grade, math proficiency sits in a range that is roughly on par with a passing majority of students, and fourth grade math lands similarly. By fifth grade, the math proficiency rate drops more noticeably, with fewer than half of students reaching the proficient or above threshold. English language arts tells a harder story: third grade ELA proficiency falls below half, fourth grade ELA drops more sharply, and fifth grade ELA is in a similar range to fourth. Fifth-grade science sits in the mid-forties. Relative to the comparison set of districts within Queens County, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. This does not represent a verdict on the school's effort or the community it serves, but it does mean that parents who are weighing academic preparation as a priority should look more closely, ask the school what supports are in place for students who are below grade level, and explore what District 24 offers in terms of intervention programs and multilingual services.
On the district side, context matters. District 24 has been publicly reported as one of the most overcrowded school districts in the five boroughs, though the city's capital plan includes funding for new elementary school construction in the district to add seats. A new unzoned K-5 school with a project-based learning model is also opening in District 24, publicly reported as giving priority to district residents, which gives local families an additional option beyond zoned schools. Several District 24 schools offer Spanish or Chinese dual-language programs, a meaningful consideration given the neighborhood's multilingual households. At the same time, the district is projected to lose enrollment over the next decade, a demographic shift that may affect how capacity, programming, and resources are distributed in coming years.
The housing market in the zip code reflects broader Queens pressure: home values sit above both the state and national midpoints, with prices appreciating meaningfully over the past year. Rents are also substantial. For families considering the neighborhood primarily for its school, the cost of entry is real, and the academic results at Marshall would reasonably prompt a closer look at what specific programs and supports are available before committing.
Trend data across multiple years was not available, so it is not possible to say from this data whether the school's results have been improving, holding steady, or declining. That trajectory would be a useful question to raise directly with the school or through the district.
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