Is 227 Louis Armstrong, East Elmhurst NY

Original Research by School Decision on Is 227 Louis Armstrong

IS 227 Louis Armstrong is a regular public middle school serving grades five through eight in East Elmhurst, Queens. The school sits within New York City's Geographic District 30, a mid-sized district covering parts of northwest Queens including Sunnyside, Woodside, Astoria, and East Elmhurst.

The neighborhood itself is working- and middle-class, predominantly residential, with a culturally diverse population heavily Hispanic and Asian. Most residents rent rather than own; the housing stock consists largely of detached and semi-detached one- and two-family homes built in the mid-twentieth century, alongside small apartment buildings. Astoria Boulevard runs diagonally through and serves as the commercial spine with local groceries, family restaurants, and shops. The area has no subway service, so residents rely on bus connections to reach transit hubs like the 103rd Street-Corona Plaza station on the 7 line. LaGuardia Airport, the neighborhood's dominant employer, sits on its borders and shapes the local economy; many pilots and flight attendants rent locally.

Enrollments at IS 227 are substantial, with the school serving students across its four grade levels. A majority of students, nearly seven in ten, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is highly diverse by race and ethnicity: roughly one-third Hispanic, about one-quarter Asian, one-fifth white, and one-seventh Black, with smaller populations of multiracial and Native American students. Data on English learner enrollment and special education enrollment were not available.

State test results from the most recent year show proficiency across the school's tested subjects and grades. In English language arts, results range from strong in the lower grades to solid across the upper ones: fifth graders showed high proficiency, sixth graders three-quarters proficient, seventh graders about three-quarters, and eighth graders about four-fifths. Math proficiency shows more variation by grade. Fifth and seventh graders both demonstrated strong proficiency, while sixth graders clustered around three-quarters proficient. Eighth-grade math proficiency was notably lower, at about seven in ten. Science testing data was provided only for fifth grade, where about seven in ten students reached proficiency. Eighth-grade science results were not reported, which may reflect the testing schedule or course enrollment patterns rather than an absence of instruction.

One note on eighth-grade data: the participation rate in eighth-grade math was substantially lower than in other grades, suggesting either a smaller cohort tested or some variation in course-taking patterns. Parents may want to ask the school directly about what accounts for these differences.

When compared against other middle schools within Queens County, IS 227's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile, a meaningful position showing this school's students are reaching grade-level standards at rates that exceed the median among its county peers.

The school sits within a district experiencing significant recent changes. A new STEAM-focused middle school opened nearby in 2023 to address overcrowding in Sunnyside and Woodside. The district has also shifted to teaching reading from three city-approved, phonics-based curricula as part of the broader NYC Reads initiative, and the Gifted and Talented admissions process has been overhauled to replace standardized testing with a grades-and-lottery model, now offering accelerated seats in every district school.

Housing values in the 11369 zip code have appreciated modestly in recent years. The area offers walkability and dense urban living with quiet, tree-lined residential blocks, a stable neighborhood feel, but limited downtown commercial or civic clustering. Schools, parks, and the library branch are woven into the street grid rather than concentrated in a central location. For families, IS 227 offers a neighborhood middle school with demonstrated academic proficiency in the top tier among its county peers, serving a diverse student body in a stable, working-class residential setting with access to the broader services and employment opportunities of Queens and Manhattan by bus.

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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	385	73.0%
Math	256	100.0%
Science	85	92.0%

Math

Grade 579%

School 79% · District 59% · ▲ 20 pts above district

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

Grade 673%

School 73% · District 59% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 786%

School 86% · District 64% · ▲ 23 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 869%

School 69% · District 47% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 586%

School 86% · District 62% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 676%

School 76% · District 62% · ▲ 14 pts above district

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

Grade 775%

School 75% · District 61% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 882%

School 82% · District 63% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Science

Grade 572%

School 72% · District 49% · ▲ 23 pts above district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

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 #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 5Lower-income82%Higher-income92%10 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income71%Higher-income84%13 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income69%Higher-income89%20 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income78%Higher-income90%13 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income73%Higher-income89%17 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income67%Higher-income83%16 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income85%Higher-income91%7 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income69%Higher-income67%2 pp gap