Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School Ii, Buffalo NY

Original Research by School Decision on Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School Ii

Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School II is a kindergarten-through-grade-11 charter school in Buffalo serving just over five hundred students. The school received a five-year charter renewal and an approved revision to add middle grades six through eight, creating a continuous K-12 pathway. That change, effective this past summer, removes prior uncertainty about continuity and gives families the option of staying at one school from entry through high school graduation.

The student body is majority Black and Asian, with substantial shares of each; a smaller portion of the enrollment is Hispanic or white. More than nine in ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure of economic need that is common in Buffalo but signals the school serves a predominantly low-income population. Enrollment data for special populations such as students with disabilities or English learners was not available.

In state testing from the most recent school year, the school's proficiency rates in math and English language arts fall well below state midpoints across the tested grades, third through fifth and ninth through eleventh. Third-grade math proficiency stands above the other elementary grades tested, while fourth- and fifth-grade math proficiency are much lower. English language arts proficiency is similarly modest across grades three through five. Science proficiency in grade five also sits in the lower range. Participation in testing was very high across subjects and grades, meaning these results reflect actual student performance rather than incomplete testing. Among districts in Erie County, this school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. A parent may want to discuss with the school staff what instructional supports and interventions are in place for students not yet meeting grade-level standards, and how the school tracks progress over time.

The school's curriculum is structured around research-based ELA and math materials aligned to New York State standards, including Fundations, Wit and Wisdom, Eureka Math, and Bridges for mathematics. This standards-aligned, structured-literacy approach provides consistency across classrooms at the same grade level.

The school sits in Buffalo's East Side neighborhood. Housing values in the school's ZIP code are modest and have risen modestly year over year. Rents are stable at a moderate level. The neighborhood is part of a city in active redevelopment, particularly downtown and on the East Side, with new housing projects bringing both market-rate and affordable units online. Buffalo's economy anchors around healthcare, government, finance, and education, with state government the largest employer; major health systems and M&T Bank are also significant. The city has a public transit system and organized neighborhood commercial corridors, though transit and walkability vary by neighborhood.

The school's charter status means it is independently operated and overseen by the state, not by Buffalo's traditional public school district. That structure gives families a distinct institutional option but also means the school operates outside district governance and requires separate enrollment and documentation.

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Academic performance

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

Advanced Placement & IB

2 subjects offered · 2023-24

Each card is one AP or IB subject. The headline number is the share of students scoring 3 or higher on the exam — the threshold for college credit at most universities. The bar below each rate shows the underlying distribution across performance levels.

Score:12· no credit345· extremely well qualified

Math and Computer Science

Precalculus

1 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

History and Social Sciences

U.S. History

11 tested

72.7%

scored 3 or higher

New York Regents Exams

4 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
Social Studies	72	75.0%
Ela	63	84.0%
Science	51	63.0%
Math	10	70.0%

Math

Grade 350%

School 50% · district not reported

▼ 9 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 430%

School 30% · district not reported

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

Grade 527%

School 27% · district not reported

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 336%

School 36% · district not reported

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

Grade 440%

School 40% · district not reported

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

Grade 532%

School 32% · district not reported

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Science

Grade 527%

School 27% · district not reported

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

This schoolDistrict average, 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-income32%Higher-income33%2 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income29%Higher-income14%14 pp gap