Ps/ms 147 Ronald Mcnair, Cambria Heights NY

Original Research by School Decision on Ps/ms 147 Ronald Mcnair

PS/MS 147 Ronald McNair is a public elementary and middle school serving pre-kindergarten through grade eight in Cambria Heights, Queens. It is situated in a stable, owner-occupied neighborhood of brick single-family homes and is one of two elementary schools serving the area, drawing students primarily from the surrounding residential blocks.

The school's academic standing reflects persistent challenges in reading and mathematics proficiency. Across all tested grades and subjects, proficiency rates cluster below typical citywide baselines. In English language arts, performance is mixed by grade: grades four, six, seven, and eight show proficiency rates in the low-to-mid range, while grades three and five are lower. Mathematics proficiency is notably weaker across the board, with grade five showing particularly low results and most other grades registering in the low-to-mid 20s. Science proficiency in grade five is quite low; grade eight performance is somewhat stronger but still below the district midpoint. When pooled across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among the county's school districts. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, especially around math support in the upper elementary grades and the reading intervention strategies currently in place.

The student body reflects the neighborhood's demographics. A substantial majority of students are Black, with significant numbers identifying as Hispanic or Asian. More than seven in ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a population with considerable economic need. Enrollment is stable at around the low-to-mid hundreds across the full pre-K through eight span, with slightly larger concentrations in the middle grades.

Cambria Heights itself is a low-density, predominantly residential neighborhood built out in the mid-twentieth century. Housing is owner-occupied, with tree-lined streets of Cape Cods, Tudors, and Colonials. The area has a strong multigenerational character and is described as having among the highest homeownership rates in Queens. Francis Lewis Boulevard and Linden Boulevard serve as the commercial spines, lined with small shops, restaurants, churches, and the branch library. The Cambria Heights Public Library on Linden Boulevard functions as a civic and meeting space. Cambria Playground offers athletic fields, basketball, and a splash pad. Transit is bus-based; subway access is limited, though the LIRR station at Laurelton is within a reasonable walk.

The neighborhood has resisted higher-density development over decades, with residents pursuing downzoning in recent years to maintain the one- and two-family character and prevent what residents called out-of-scale development. This preference for preservation and stability, while strong at the civic level, reflects a community that values consistency over growth. The broader city's housing and rezoning debates, including the 2024 "City of Yes" initiative, drew substantial local opposition, with residents gathering in large numbers at the library to voice concerns about increased density and accessory dwelling units.

At the district level, PS/MS 147 is part of NYC Geographic District 29 and is subject to two major curriculum reforms. The NYC Reads mandate requires all elementary schools to use one of three standardized phonics-focused reading curricula (Into Reading, Wit & Wisdom, or EL Education) with three-times-yearly reading screeners that parents can track. This replaced the prior approach in which principals had more discretion, including the formerly common balanced-literacy method. For middle school, NYC Solves standardizes math instruction under a single approved curriculum. These reforms represent durable shifts that reframe how core subjects are taught and assessed, so families should ask the school specifically what reading program is in use and how they can access screening data.

Housing values in the ZIP code are above the state benchmark, reflecting the neighborhood's stability and homeownership prevalence. Most families are long-tenured residents with multigenerational ties to the area.

A parent considering this school should understand that it serves a deeply rooted, economically diverse community with strong ties to place and that it is working within a system-wide curriculum framework now standardized across the city. The academic data indicate ongoing room for improvement in both reading and math, particularly in the upper elementary and middle grades. The school and its neighborhood are characterized by stability, community cohesion, and commitment to preserving a small-scale, owner-occupied residential environment.

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Academic performance

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

New York Regents Exams

1 course 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
Math	26	54.0%

Math

Grade 330%

School 30% · District 64% · ▼ 33 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 40 pts below county median

Grade 436%

School 36% · District 58% · ▼ 21 pts below district

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

Grade 510%

School 10% · District 54% · ▼ 43 pts below district

▼ 41 pts below state median · ▼ 50 pts below county median

Grade 625%

School 25% · District 39% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

Grade 717%

School 17% · District 44% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 47 pts below county median

Grade 828%

School 28% · District 45% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 338%

School 38% · District 54% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 55% · ▼ 12 pts below district

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

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 59% · ▼ 36 pts below district

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 39 pts below county median

Grade 640%

School 40% · District 47% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 743%

School 43% · District 48% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 51% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Science

Grade 510%

School 10% · District 37% · ▼ 27 pts below district

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

Grade 826%

School 26% · District 36% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 562%

School 62% · district not reported

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

Grade 840%

School 40% · district not reported

▼ 39 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #29, 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-income48%Higher-income0%48 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income36%Higher-income67%30 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income20%Higher-income28%8 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income37%Higher-income47%10 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income36%Higher-income63%27 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income41%Higher-income39%2 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income33%Higher-income17%17 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income32%Higher-income50%18 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income7%Higher-income16%9 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income21%Higher-income33%13 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income16%Higher-income19%3 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income24%Higher-income42%17 pp gap