Wheatley School, Old Westbury NY

Original Research by School Decision on Wheatley School

Wheatley School is a middle and high school serving grades eight through twelve in the East Williston Union Free School District, located in Old Westbury on Long Island's North Shore. The school sits in one of the nation's wealthiest residential communities, an estate village of large properties and long driveways where residents typically work in professional fields such as finance, healthcare, and academia.

The student body is predominantly white and Asian, with smaller shares of Hispanic and Black students. The school does not report free-or-reduced-price lunch counts or special education and English learner enrollment figures, which limits visibility into economic diversity and support for students with learning differences or language needs. Parent inquiries to the school about these enrollment breakdowns may clarify the school's actual student composition and resource allocation.

On state assessments in 2024-25, eighth-grade proficiency was mixed. In English language arts, students performed solidly, with a majority reaching proficiency. Mathematics proficiency was notably lower, at roughly the midpoint. Science showed the steepest challenge, with fewer than half of tested eighth graders meeting the standard. Across the school's tested grades and subjects, Wheatley's overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint relative to other districts in Nassau County, a signal that families seeking high academic attainment should review these results carefully. The school's participation rates on state tests varied: English language arts had strong participation, while mathematics and science had much lower participation, which may reflect course-taking patterns or opt-out decisions that shape the school's test pool.

The school has an enrollment of roughly seven hundred students spread relatively evenly across its five grade bands. The housing market in Old Westbury is expensive, with properties valued at a level far above both state and national medians, and owners can expect property taxes aligned with the district's sustained use of the maximum allowable tax levy increase. Families relocating to the area should factor in both the estate-style living costs and the ongoing school-tax pressure.

Old Westbury itself is a low-density, car-dependent place with no downtown district or public walkable streets; civic life centers on separated institutional campuses and open space rather than a town center. Residents travel to neighboring Westbury village for commercial amenities and the nearest LIRR station. The village has preserved its pastoral, wooded character through strict zoning and large minimum lot sizes, and recent growth has been minimal; a major proposed multifamily housing development encountered resident opposition and did not advance.

The district is investing in facility infrastructure through capital reserve funds approved by voters, including auditorium and roof work at Wheatley and library upgrades. These improvements address the school's learning environment directly. At the same time, the district's repeated adoption of budgets at the state's maximum tax-cap limit is a pattern families should understand as they weigh long-term ownership in the area.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=95%Cohort of 152 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

28 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

46 tested

52.2%

scored 3 or higher

Calculus BC

26 tested

96.2%

scored 3 or higher

Computer Science A

9 tested · Grade 10

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Computer Science Principles

5 tested · Grade 10

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Precalculus

1 tested · Grade 9

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Statistics

26 tested · Grade 9, Grade 10

57.7%

scored 3 or higher

Sciences

Biology

40 tested · Grade 10

87.5%

scored 3 or higher

Chemistry

25 tested · Grade 9, Grade 10

80.0%

scored 3 or higher

Environmental Science

38 tested

78.9%

scored 3 or higher

Physics 1

33 tested

39.4%

scored 3 or higher

Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism

4 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Physics C: Mechanics

21 tested

90.5%

scored 3 or higher

English

Research

44 tested

81.8%

scored 3 or higher

Seminar

94 tested · Grade 10

89.4%

scored 3 or higher

History and Social Sciences

Human Geography

27 tested

77.8%

scored 3 or higher

Macroeconomics

44 tested

65.9%

scored 3 or higher

Psychology

59 tested · Grade 10

83.1%

scored 3 or higher

U.S. History

109 tested

84.4%

scored 3 or higher

World Languages and Cultures

French Language and Culture

10 tested

40.0%

scored 3 or higher

German Language and Culture

1 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Italian Language and Culture

9 tested

77.8%

scored 3 or higher

Spanish Language and Culture

28 tested

85.7%

scored 3 or higher

Arts

Music Theory

1 tested · Grade 10

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Other

Language and Comp

77 tested · Grade 10

83.1%

scored 3 or higher

Literature and Comp

26 tested

100.0%

scored 3 or higher

Studio Art 2d Design

5 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

U S Government and Politics

43 tested

74.4%

scored 3 or higher

World History

95 tested · Grade 9, Grade 10

88.4%

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	152	94.0%
Ela	148	97.0%
Science	145	93.0%
Social Studies	120	97.0%

Math

Grade 858%

School 58% · District 58%

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 874%

School 74% · District 74%

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Science

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 39%

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

This schoolEAST WILLISTON UNION FREE 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-income55%Higher-income78%23 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 8Lower-income67%Higher-income56%11 pp gap