Ps 165 Edith K Bergtraum, Flushing NY

Original Research by School Decision on Ps 165 Edith K Bergtraum

PS 165 Edith K. Bergtraum is a pre-K through fifth-grade school in Flushing, Queens, serving a substantial and diverse student body. The enrollment skews heavily toward Asian students, with nearly half the school identifying in that category, alongside a significant Hispanic student population and other represented groups. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of economic need at the school level.

Academically, the school's performance sits in the top quartile among Queens County elementary schools when measured by overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. In mathematics, proficiency rises across the grade band: third grade is in the mid-range, fourth grade is stronger, and fifth grade reaches a majority of students meeting or exceeding the state standard. English language arts shows a similar pattern, with third and fourth grades in the low-to-mid range and fifth grade at three-quarters proficiency. Science proficiency in fifth grade falls below the trend in math and ELA, touching just under three-fifths of students. Test participation rates are consistently high, suggesting limited chronic absenteeism during assessment windows. The school has not reported science or social studies results for grades below fifth, and science has been tested only in the most recent year available, so longer academic trends are not visible from the data provided.

The school sits in Flushing's residential plateau neighborhood, away from the dense downtown commercial core and its high-rise development. The immediate area is tree-lined and quieter than Main Street, with single-family homes and a planned residential character. Housing values in the Flushing zip code are moderate compared to the state and national benchmarks, and rent is stable. Flushing itself has been growing and reshaping rapidly with major waterfront projects and upscale mixed-use developments, though the immediate school neighborhood tends toward older, smaller buildings and established residential blocks.

At the district level, all elementary schools including PS 165 adopted a phonics-based reading curriculum called Into Reading starting in the 2023-2024 school year, standardizing literacy instruction across District 25. This shift from principal-selected materials to a science-of-reading approach is a lasting change affecting how early reading is taught. Middle school admissions screening returned to district control, allowing local selective programs rather than citywide lottery, and the gifted and talented program was expanded with a new teacher-nomination-based entry pathway and a local G&T option in every district for the first time.

For families considering this school, the key trade-off is proficiency that is solid and improving with grade level, particularly strong in the upper elementary grades, paired with a neighborhood setting that is residential and stable rather than at the epicenter of Flushing's rapid transformation. The student body is economically vulnerable and multilingual, which may reflect language learner support needs; specific data on English learner enrollment and special education was not available. The recent adoption of a standardized reading curriculum represents a shift in instructional approach that a parent may want to understand more deeply with the school itself.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 365%

School 65% · District 74% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 469%

School 69% · District 72% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 574%

School 74% · District 69% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 361%

School 61% · District 66% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 463%

School 63% · District 62% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 575%

School 75% · District 66% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Science

Grade 557%

School 57% · District 57%

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 586%

School 86% · district not reported

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

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #25, 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-income52%Higher-income94%43 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income57%Higher-income88%32 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income70%Higher-income86%16 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income64%Higher-income77%14 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income59%Higher-income89%30 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income64%Higher-income88%24 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income68%Higher-income86%18 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income88%Higher-income86%1 pp gap