York Early College Academy, Jamaica NY

Original Research by School Decision on York Early College Academy

York Early College Academy sits on 167th Street in Jamaica, Queens, part of NYC Geographic District 28. It serves grades six through twelve, which means a student can enroll in middle school and remain through high school graduation without switching buildings. That single-building pathway is the school's defining structural feature and shapes everything about its peer environment and academic continuity.

Jamaica itself is a dense, transit-rich neighborhood anchored by the Long Island Rail Road hub, the E, J, and Z subway lines, and the AirTrain to JFK. The area around the school is residential, with the more commercial corridors of Jamaica Avenue and Sutphin Boulevard a short distance away. The neighborhood is undergoing substantial residential development, with large mixed-income towers rising near the transit hub, and a recently approved rezoning is intended to add a substantial number of new homes to the area over the coming years. York College (CUNY) is physically nearby, which is relevant context for a school with "early college" in its name.

On academic performance, the state testing data available covers grades six through eight in ELA and math, on the New York State Testing Program. In sixth grade, ELA proficiency runs well above the majority mark, and math is roughly similar. In seventh grade, ELA proficiency holds above half and math dips below it. Eighth grade ELA data shows more than half of tested students scoring proficient or above, which is a reasonable result. The eighth grade math and science rows show no tested students, which likely reflects the school's course sequencing rather than an absence of eighth graders; students at an early college academy often move into high school math before eighth grade, so the standard grade-aligned state assessment may not apply to them. A parent who wants clarity on exactly which math sequences eighth graders are placed into would do well to ask the school directly.

Comparing the school's overall proficiency index to other districts in Queens County, York Early College Academy falls in the bottom quartile of the comparison set. That is a straightforward fact worth sitting with, though it is worth noting the comparison universe includes district-level data and this is a single school, so the peer context is approximate. Graduation rate data was not available in the data provided, which is a notable gap for a school that includes grades nine through twelve.

A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a lower-income student body by federal definitions. The school is majority Black, with a meaningful share of Asian students, smaller shares of Hispanic and American Indian/Alaska Native students, and very few white students. Data on English learners and students with IEPs was not reported in the data available, so those dimensions cannot be characterized here.

The "early college" designation is the school's clearest programmatic identity. Publicly reported information links the school to York College nearby, consistent with a model in which high school students take college courses, potentially earning credits before graduation. That pathway, if fully realized, represents a meaningful opportunity, particularly for students who would be first-generation college attendees. A parent should ask specifically how many college credits a typical student earns, what the partnership with York College looks like in practice, and what the four-year graduation rate and college enrollment outcomes have been. The data here does not supply those answers.

Within District 28, two district-level changes are worth knowing. The city's NYC Reads literacy overhaul requires all elementary schools to use one of three approved science-of-reading curricula, with a planned extension toward middle schools by fall 2027. That change matters more for the school's younger grades than for high schoolers but will shape the preparation of incoming sixth graders over time. Separately, Queens High School for the Sciences, a specialized high school that reserves a portion of seats for Districts 27 and 28 students, is relocating to a new, larger building in Jamaica for the 2026-27 school year, which expands local access to a selective high school pathway for families in this district.

Housing near the school reflects Queens County's market more broadly: home values are well above the state median and substantially above the national median, with recent year-over-year appreciation that has outpaced both benchmarks. Rents are similarly elevated. Families coming from outside Queens should plan accordingly.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=95%Cohort of 84 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

1,253 schools plotted. 14 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

New York Regents Exams

4 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
Social Studies	104	62.0%
Ela	86	94.0%
Science	79	54.0%
Math	66	76.0%

Math

Grade 653%

School 53% · District 55% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 740%

School 40% · District 59% · ▼ 19 pts below district

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

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 34% · ▼ 34 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 662%

School 62% · District 56% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Grade 753%

School 53% · District 55% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 859%

School 59% · District 56% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 38% · ▼ 38 pts below district

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #28, 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-income62%Higher-income63%1 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income52%Higher-income60%9 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income55%Higher-income72%18 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income53%Higher-income50%3 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income39%Higher-income40%1 pp gap