Ps 238 Anne Sullivan, Brooklyn NY

Original Research by School Decision on Ps 238 Anne Sullivan

PS 238 Anne Sullivan is a neighborhood school serving pre-K through eighth grade in Brooklyn, with roughly even numbers of students across grades, anchored in a dense, walkable community. The school draws a diverse population: about equal shares of Hispanic and white students, with a substantial Asian enrollment, and about nine in ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. This is a school embedded in a working-class Brooklyn neighborhood where most families face real economic pressure.

Academic performance reveals a mixed picture. Third grade shows relatively strong ground in both math and English language arts, with solid proficiency. From there, performance narrows considerably. Fourth and fifth grades drop sharply in both subjects, hitting some of the lowest points in the school's tested span. Sixth grade stabilizes somewhat, particularly in math. Seventh grade rebounds in ELA, where proficiency climbs back to a majority of students. Eighth grade performance is uneven: strong in ELA but weak in math.

Science results are sparse. Fifth grade science proficiency is very low. By eighth grade, science improves to nearly half the students proficient. The school has no recent social studies data, so current standing in that subject is unclear.

Across the school, results sit below the midpoint among other districts in Kings County, where the school serves. For a parent considering this school, the reality is that students face real gaps, especially in the middle elementary years and in upper-level math. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what targeted support is available in those vulnerable grades and what strategies the school is using to address the drops visible in the data.

Brooklyn itself is a large, highly walkable borough with dense neighborhoods, extensive transit, and strong civic anchors including Prospect Park and an exceptional public library system. The housing market in the neighborhood is robust and costly, with values well above state and national medians and rents rising. The area is in active growth and development, particularly Downtown Brooklyn and gentrifying areas like Williamsburg.

The school operates under NYC's newer literacy mandate, NYC Reads, which means reading instruction follows one of three city-approved, science-of-reading-aligned curricula rather than school-selected approaches. Math instruction is following a similar path through NYC Solves, which will require standardized programs in all middle schools by the 2027-28 school year.

This is a neighborhood school for families rooted in or committed to this part of Brooklyn, not a choice destination school. It reflects the demographics and economics of its block and serves students in a period of significant neighborhood change and rising housing costs. Student outcomes warrant careful conversation with the school about what gaps are being addressed and what families can expect in each grade.

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Academic performance

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

New York Regents Exams

2 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
Science	58	22.0%
Math	54	7.0%

Math

Grade 366%

School 66% · District 67% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 427%

School 27% · District 63% · ▼ 36 pts below district

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 39 pts below county median

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 61% · ▼ 42 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 39 pts below county median

Grade 656%

School 56% · District 64% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 748%

School 48% · District 74% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 830%

School 30% · District 70% · ▼ 41 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 353%

School 53% · District 59% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 444%

School 44% · District 57% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 61% · ▼ 28 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 637%

School 37% · District 64% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 757%

School 57% · District 66% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 861%

School 61% · District 64% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Science

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 46% · ▼ 32 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 849%

School 49% · District 54% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 577%

School 77% · district not reported

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

Grade 861%

School 61% · district not reported

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

This schoolNEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #21, 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-income33%Higher-income40%7 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income53%Higher-income100%47 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income14%Higher-income60%46 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income44%Higher-income100%56 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income30%Higher-income20%10 pp gap