The top reported proficiency rate is 46% in English language arts. The lowest is 12% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Academy for Young Writers
Academy for Young Writers is a public middle and high school located in East New York, Brooklyn, serving grades six through twelve. The school enrolls a small cohort drawn almost entirely from economically disadvantaged families, with a substantial share qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly Black and Hispanic, with smaller populations of Asian, White, and multiracial students.
The school's most recent state assessment results in English language arts show a mixed picture across its grade band. In sixth grade, proficiency sits at a modest level. Seventh grade outperforms the lower grades notably, with about half the grade meeting state proficiency standards in ELA. Eighth grade maintains roughly the same strong performance in ELA. In mathematics, the pattern reverses and deepens: sixth grade proficiency is very low, seventh grade improves but remains well below typical benchmarks, and eighth grade drops sharply, with only a handful of students meeting proficiency standards. Science assessment data, available only for eighth grade, shows proficiency at a moderate level. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile relative to other schools in Kings County, suggesting students on the whole are mastering tested content at a rate substantially below their peers elsewhere in the borough.
Math participation rates are particularly worth noting. In eighth grade math, fewer than half of enrolled students participated in the state assessment, compared to participation rates near or above eighty percent in ELA for the same cohort and lower grades. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand whether absences, scheduling, or other factors explain the gap.
The school carries the name Academy for Young Writers, which likely reflects a curricular or programmatic emphasis on literacy and writing. However, the specific nature of that focus, such as whether it shapes instruction across all grades, drives elective offerings in the high school grades, or operates as a specialized pathway within the building, is not detailed in available data. Similarly, information about course access, career pathways, dual-credit programs, or advanced offerings in the high school grades was not available. A parent interested in what the school offers at the ninth through twelfth grade level, and how it prepares students for college or career, would benefit from speaking directly with the school's staff.
The school sits in East New York, a neighborhood in southeastern Brooklyn where median home values are notably lower than the borough average and rents are substantially less expensive. The housing market has been absorbing significant new residential development borough-wide, though accessibility and affordability remain competing pressures. The area is transit-accessible and walkable, with dense street life and neighborhood anchors including schools, shops, and parks typical of Brooklyn's urban fabric. A new accelerated high school, Bard High School Early College, opened in the neighborhood in the current school year, offering students a pathway to earn college credits and an associate degree while in high school.
District 19, which houses Academy for Young Writers, recently adopted a standardized reading curriculum as part of the city's literacy mandate. The district has also seen steady enrollment shifts, with growing numbers of district families opting for charter schools and fewer middle-school-aged residents staying in district middle schools, changes that shape the competitive landscape and resource allocation across available options.
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