Jhs 185 Edward Bleeker, Flushing NY

Original Research by School Decision on Jhs 185 Edward Bleeker

JHS 185 Edward Bleeker is a middle school of moderate size serving grades six through eight in Flushing, Queens. It sits in one of the city's densest and fastest-growing neighborhoods, a mixed commercial and residential area with a heavily multilingual population and the largest concentrations of Chinese, Korean, and Thai residents in New York City. The school draws a student body that is majority Asian, with a substantial share of Hispanic students, and more than three-quarters of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment is relatively stable across the three grade levels, with a small portion of students in ungraded status.

The school's mathematics performance shows a grade-dependent pattern. Sixth graders demonstrate solid proficiency, and seventh graders perform notably well. Eighth grade mathematics proficiency drops meaningfully, though this result should be interpreted with caution given that a smaller share of eighth graders participated in the assessment compared to the other grades. In English language arts, the school shows consistent performance across grades six, seven, and eight, with roughly similar proficiency rates. Eighth grade science proficiency is in the mid-range, though again, fewer students participated in that assessment. Across tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency sits in the top quartile relative to other districts in Queens County, a genuine strength.

These results reflect what the school teaches and how well students are learning it at each stage. The seventh grade strength in math is notable. The eighth grade mathematics drop and lower participation rates in eighth grade math and science are patterns a parent may want to understand more deeply with the school itself, particularly if a student is moving into eighth grade.

Flushing itself is an intensely walkable downtown neighborhood with the Main Street corridor as one of the busiest pedestrian thoroughfares in the city, alongside quiet residential blocks with single-family homes. The area is served by the Flushing-Main Street subway station, the eastern terminus of the 7 line, which reaches Grand Central and connects to the Long Island Rail Road. Housing values in the Flushing zip code are above the state median and have been rising. Major employment centers include NewYork-Presbyterian Queens hospital on Main Street and a dense network of small retail and professional services businesses throughout downtown.

At the district level, literacy instruction across all elementary schools shifted in 2023 to a standardized, phonics-based curriculum following the city's reading mandate. Middle school admissions in District 25 now use academic screening at the district level rather than a citywide lottery, a shift that took effect for the 2023-2024 cycle. The district also now offers local gifted and talented programs with expanded eligibility through teacher recommendation rather than a standardized test.

No data on special education identification rates or English learner enrollment were provided for this school, so those characteristics remain unclear. The school's website location was not available in the provided information.

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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	208	100.0%
Science	180	99.0%
Social Studies	177	99.0%

Math

Grade 672%

School 72% · District 62% · ▲ 10 pts above district

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

Grade 783%

School 83% · District 74% · ▲ 10 pts above district

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

Grade 866%

School 66% · District 50% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 665%

School 65% · District 60% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 772%

School 72% · District 65% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Grade 872%

School 72% · District 66% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 868%

School 68% · District 52% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 44 pts above 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 6Lower-income62%Higher-income77%16 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income70%Higher-income78%8 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income71%Higher-income76%5 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income70%Higher-income80%10 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income82%Higher-income86%4 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income65%Higher-income67%2 pp gap