Is 204 Oliver W Holmes, Long Island City NY

Original Research by School Decision on Is 204 Oliver W Holmes

IS 204 Oliver W Holmes is a regular public middle school in Long Island City, Queens, serving grades six through eight. The school enrolled roughly equal cohorts across those grades. About nine in ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with substantial Asian, Black, and white populations also present. English learner enrollment data and special education enrollment were not available from the source.

The school's state test results show a pattern of lower proficiency that improves across the grade span. In sixth-grade math, proficiency ran below what you would see at the median Queens County middle school. Seventh grade improved markedly. By eighth grade, both math and English language arts proficiency rates climbed further. Eighth-grade science proficiency stood in the lower-middle range. Participation rates were generally solid, though some testing sessions, particularly in sixth and seventh-grade ELA, saw participation below the ninety-percent mark. Across tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index placed it in the bottom quartile among Queens County districts. A parent may want to look into whether the school offers supports or intervention structures for students not yet meeting grade-level targets in the lower grades.

Long Island City itself has transformed rapidly from an industrial area into one of New York City's fastest-growing residential neighborhoods. The area mixes new residential towers with converted warehouses, galleries, and studios, and it sits within the Special Long Island City Mixed Use District. The neighborhood is transit-rich, reachable by multiple subway lines and bus routes, and the East River waterfront includes Gantry Plaza State Park and Hunter's Point South, a major redevelopment project bringing thousands of new apartments, schools, and public space. Residents span a wide range of incomes; about half of LIC renters are cost-burdened despite the area's growing prosperity. Home values in the 11106 zip code have risen in recent years and remain above the New York State benchmark. Rents have similarly risen and continue to climb. The neighborhood is home to major employers including JetBlue, the New York Times, Uber, and Silvercup Studios, as well as LaGuardia Community College.

The school sits within New York City Geographic District 30, which also serves Sunnyside, Woodside, and Astoria. In September 2023, the district added a new middle school in Sunnyside focused on STEAM, addressing longstanding overcrowding in that area. District 30 elementary schools now teach reading from one of three city-approved, phonics-based curricula as part of a citywide initiative launched in 2023-24. The city's overhauled Gifted & Talented admissions process, which replaced a single standardized test with a grades-and-lottery model and expanded G&T seats to every district, has also affected how families in District 30 access accelerated programs at the elementary level.

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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
Math	38	63.0%
Science	38	87.0%
Social Studies	38	71.0%

Math

Grade 630%

School 30% · District 59% · ▼ 29 pts below district

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

Grade 746%

School 46% · District 64% · ▼ 17 pts below district

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

Grade 857%

School 57% · District 47% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 62% · ▼ 21 pts below district

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

Grade 742%

School 42% · District 61% · ▼ 19 pts below district

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

Grade 846%

School 46% · District 63% · ▼ 18 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 843%

School 43% · District 38% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #30, 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 7Lower-income38%Higher-income100%62 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income40%Higher-income91%51 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income43%Higher-income100%57 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income54%Higher-income91%37 pp gap