The top reported proficiency rate is 79% in Social studies. The lowest is 45% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Ps 120
PS 120 sits on 136th Street in Flushing, Queens, serving children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular New York City public elementary school within Geographic District 25. The school draws from one of the most densely populated and rapidly growing neighborhoods in the borough, a place where the commercial intensity of downtown Flushing's Main Street corridor gives way, just a few blocks out, to quieter residential streets. That dual character shapes the community around the school.
The student body is large for an elementary school and heavily Asian, with a substantial Hispanic minority and very small numbers of other racial groups. The vast majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which signals a predominantly low-income population despite Flushing's active commercial economy. English learner and special education data were not available in the records reviewed, which is a gap a parent should raise directly with the school, particularly given how many immigrant families live in the area and how multilingual the surrounding neighborhood is.
On state assessments administered through the New York State Testing Program, the picture is split between math and English language arts. In math, results are genuinely strong across all three tested grade levels, with the fifth grade performing best and all grades sitting comfortably above what one would expect from a school serving a high-poverty population. Among the schools in Queens County whose data was available for comparison, PS 120's overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint, though that aggregate is pulled down by the ELA side. In English language arts, results are more modest: third and fourth grade each sees fewer than half of students reaching proficiency, and fifth grade lands right at the halfway mark. Science results at fifth grade fall in a similar range to ELA. Social studies data was present only from a much older school year, so recent performance there cannot be assessed. A parent who cares about early literacy in particular may want to ask the school how the newer Into Reading curriculum, adopted district-wide in fall 2023 as part of the citywide NYC Reads phonics mandate, has been implemented and what early results look like.
That curriculum shift is one of the most concrete changes affecting the school right now. District 25 was in the first wave of the rollout, meaning PS 120 has been using the standardized Into Reading program for roughly two full school years. The shift ended the prior arrangement in which principals chose their own reading materials, so families arriving from other schools or cities may find the approach more consistent and legible than what they have encountered elsewhere. On the gifted and talented front, the city has reorganized access so that every district, including District 25, now has a local G&T option, with kindergarten admission moving from a standardized test to teacher nomination plus a lottery. Middle school admissions screening, paused during the pandemic, also returned to district-level control beginning with the 2023-2024 cycle, so families thinking ahead to sixth grade should look into what District 25 criteria currently govern selective middle school programs.
Housing in the Flushing zip code is priced well above the state average and substantially above national norms, with home values continuing to rise. Rents are also elevated and growing. This is one of the most expensive corners of Queens, a reflection of transit access, density, and ongoing development pressure. The Special Flushing Waterfront District, a large rezoning along Flushing Creek approved by the City Council in late 2020, is adding significant residential and commercial density to the area, which will continue reshaping the school-age population over time.
The neighborhood itself is deeply walkable and transit-rich. The 7 train's eastern terminus at Flushing-Main Street connects to Grand Central, and the Long Island Rail Road's Port Washington Branch connects to Penn Station, so commuting families have strong options. Cultural resources are substantial, including Flushing Meadows-Corona Park with its museums, the Queens Library's Flushing Branch, and Flushing Town Hall. The streetscape is multilingual and commercially dense downtown, an environment that reflects the school's own demographics.
No graduation rate applies here, as PS 120 does not serve high school grades. Chronic absenteeism data was not available in the records reviewed.
See more original research from School Decision →