Cold Spring Harbor High School, Cold Spring Harbor NY

Original Research by School Decision on Cold Spring Harbor High School

Cold Spring Harbor High School is a public school serving grades seven through twelve on Long Island's North Shore, drawing students from a historically affluent residential community in the Town of Huntington and surrounding areas. The school's enrollment spans a full range of middle and high school grades, with slightly more students in the seventh and eleventh grades than in other years.

Academically, the school's performance in seventh and eighth grade state testing is notably strong. Seventh-graders demonstrated proficiency well above typical benchmarks in mathematics and solid performance in English language arts. Eighth-graders showed even higher proficiency in both subjects, with particularly strong results in ELA. When compared against the districts across Suffolk County, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile, a meaningful distinction. The absence of eighth-grade science testing data means that subject's performance remains unmeasured at this level.

No state testing data was provided for the high school grades, and the school's graduation rate was not available in the materials provided; these metrics are typically reported separately and were not included in the data received. A parent wanting a complete picture of outcomes for grades nine through twelve may want to look into these measures directly with the school or district.

The student body reflects the broader character of Cold Spring Harbor itself. The overwhelming majority of students are white, with smaller Asian and Hispanic populations present, and very few students identifying as Black, Native American, or Pacific Islander. Data on students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch and on students with individualized education plans or English learner status were not available, so the full picture of socioeconomic or language diversity remains unclear.

Cold Spring Harbor is a high-income, mature residential hamlet dominated by detached single-family homes, many of substantial value, set against wooded hills and harbor shoreline. The community functions as a bedroom community for white-collar professionals; the major nearby employer is the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a world-renowned research institution. Housing values in the area are substantial, placing it among the more expensive residential markets on Long Island's North Shore. The population has trended slowly downward over recent decades, and the community shows little active new housing development; it reads as a settled, owner-occupied market where incremental change is more likely than large-scale growth.

The district has recently launched a new full-day pre-kindergarten program, a meaningful addition for families with four-year-olds. Budget and tax-levy votes have passed with wide margins in recent years, reflecting voter support for spending levels and suggesting fiscal stability for households weighing property-tax costs.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=95%Cohort of 161 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

1,253 schools plotted. 14 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Advanced Placement & IB

30 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

Calculus AB

66 tested

69.7%

scored 3 or higher

Calculus BC

22 tested

100.0%

scored 3 or higher

Computer Science A

19 tested · Grade 10

73.7%

scored 3 or higher

Computer Science Principles

21 tested · Grade 10

90.5%

scored 3 or higher

Precalculus

17 tested

100.0%

scored 3 or higher

Statistics

42 tested

88.1%

scored 3 or higher

Sciences

Biology

50 tested

62.0%

scored 3 or higher

Chemistry

11 tested · Grade 10

45.5%

scored 3 or higher

Environmental Science

38 tested · Grade 10

47.4%

scored 3 or higher

Physics 1

46 tested · Grade 10

69.6%

scored 3 or higher

Physics 2

30 tested

56.7%

scored 3 or higher

Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism

22 tested

68.2%

scored 3 or higher

Physics C: Mechanics

22 tested

90.9%

scored 3 or higher

English

Seminar

23 tested · Grade 10

100.0%

scored 3 or higher

History and Social Sciences

European History

16 tested · Grade 10

87.5%

scored 3 or higher

Human Geography

47 tested · Grade 10

38.3%

scored 3 or higher

Macroeconomics

83 tested

62.7%

scored 3 or higher

Microeconomics

2 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Psychology

33 tested

93.9%

scored 3 or higher

U.S. History

95 tested

74.7%

scored 3 or higher

World Languages and Cultures

Chinese Language and Culture

1 tested · Grade 10

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

French Language and Culture

23 tested

26.1%

scored 3 or higher

German Language and Culture

2 tested · Grade 10

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Spanish Language and Culture

45 tested

37.8%

scored 3 or higher

Arts

Art History

6 tested

66.7%

scored 3 or higher

Music Theory

7 tested · Grade 9

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Other

Language and Comp

47 tested

89.4%

scored 3 or higher

Literature and Comp

24 tested

91.7%

scored 3 or higher

Studio Art 2d Design

15 tested

66.7%

scored 3 or higher

U S Government and Politics

21 tested

76.2%

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
Math	136	99.0%
Social Studies	111	97.0%
Ela	104	99.0%
Science	19	74.0%

Math

Grade 785%

School 85% · District 85%

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

Grade 890%

School 90% · District 90%

▲ 53 pts above state median · ▲ 65 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 775%

School 75% · District 75%

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

Grade 890%

School 90% · District 90%

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 46 pts above county median

Science

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 0%

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

This schoolCOLD SPRING HARBOR CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT, 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 8Lower-income67%Higher-income91%25 pp gap