Ps/is 268, Jamaica NY - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Ps/is 268

PS/IS 268 is a public elementary and middle school serving kindergarten through eighth grade in Jamaica, Queens. It sits in a neighborhood in transit, both in location and in character. The school serves a mid-sized student body drawn almost entirely from economically disadvantaged households, with substantial shares identifying as Hispanic and Asian, and meaningful representation across other groups. Three in four students live in the immediate area; many walk or take transit to school.

The academic picture is uneven and concentrated by grade. In the lower elementary years, third through fourth grade, math and reading proficiency falls below the midpoint among Queens County districts. Performance improves noticeably in fifth grade, where reading proficiency rises and math holds steadier. By eighth grade, the pattern reverses again into strength: nearly seven in ten eighth graders meet state math proficiency, and eight in ten meet reading proficiency, placing that cohort well above median performance for the county. Science testing, available in fifth and eighth grades, shows results in the lower to middle range. The pattern suggests students who remain in the school tend to gain ground, but the school does not start from a position of strong early literacy or numeracy.

A parent may want to look into what accounts for this grade-level variation. It could reflect differences in how students flow through the building, cohort differences, or shifts in instruction at the middle school level. The most recent data comes from a spring assessment, so it represents a single snapshot rather than trend.

Housing in the 11433 zip code where the school is located has appreciated significantly in recent years as Jamaica undergoes residential development. New mixed-use towers and smaller residential projects are rising around Jamaica Station, the major transit hub in the neighborhood. Median home values are well above the statewide benchmark, and rents have risen. This reflects gentrification and new supply entering a historically working-class area. Families with school-age children are part of that influx, though established residents remain the core population.

Jamaica itself is a dense, walkable, economically mixed neighborhood anchored by Jamaica Station, the largest transit hub on Long Island, which connects commuter rail, subway lines, and the AirTrain to JFK. The downtown core runs north and west along Jamaica Avenue, Sutphin Boulevard, and Parsons Boulevard, where government offices, courthouses, shopping, and new development cluster. South and east, the neighborhood becomes quieter residential blocks of single-family homes and smaller apartment buildings. The area is home to York College, the Queens Borough Public Library's Central Branch, and multiple performing arts venues. Street life in the downtown is intense and diverse, shaped by Caribbean, South Asian, and Latin American businesses alongside national retailers.

The school is part of NYC Geographic District 29, which serves this area of Queens. District 29 follows the citywide NYC Reads literacy mandate, which standardizes elementary reading instruction around phonics-based curricrams and screens students three times yearly. For middle school math, the district participates in NYC Solves, a standardized math curriculum rollout that reached all middle schools during the current school year. These are permanent shifts in how reading and math are taught, not temporary initiatives.

PS/IS 268 has no reported data on attendance, discipline, English learner populations, or special education. The state does not publicly report those metrics for all schools, so their absence does not necessarily reflect a data gap at this school. Staffing, course specifics, and enrichment offerings are not available in the data provided. Learning more about the school's specific programs, staff stability, and how it supports students who enter below grade level would help round out this picture.

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Academic performance

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

New York Regents Exams

3 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	28	71.0%
Ela	25	84.0%
Math	23	83.0%

Math

Grade 340%

School 40% · District 64% · ▼ 23 pts below district

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

Grade 437%

School 37% · District 58% · ▼ 21 pts below district

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

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 54%

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

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 39% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 739%

School 39% · District 44% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 868%

School 68% · District 45% · ▲ 23 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 335%

School 35% · District 54% · ▼ 20 pts below district

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

Grade 444%

School 44% · District 55% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 569%

School 69% · District 59% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 632%

School 32% · District 47% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 743%

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

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

Grade 880%

School 80% · District 51% · ▲ 29 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Science

Grade 549%

School 49% · District 37% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

Grade 860%

School 60% · District 36% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 36 pts above 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-income34%Higher-income39%5 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income43%Higher-income44%1 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income69%Higher-income73%4 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income38%Higher-income8%30 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income42%Higher-income45%3 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income82%Higher-income73%9 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income40%Higher-income40%0 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income34%Higher-income50%16 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income52%Higher-income64%12 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income35%Higher-income23%12 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income40%Higher-income33%7 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income71%Higher-income56%15 pp gap