Hempstead High School, Hempstead NY

Original Research by School Decision on Hempstead High School

Hempstead High School is a public high school serving grades nine through twelve in the Hempstead Union Free School District on Long Island. The school enrollment is drawn substantially from working and lower-income families, with a large share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly Hispanic and Black, with smaller populations of other backgrounds. The school sits in Hempstead village's downtown, at the geographic center of Nassau County and within walking distance of the LIRR transit hub and a community undergoing significant redevelopment.

State testing data were not available for this school, which is an uncommon data gap that a parent may want to explore directly with the school. The absence of reported proficiency information means the school sits outside the county-level comparison sets that would otherwise position it among Nassau County's districts. When looking at the enrollment and demographic composition, the school serves a student population with considerable economic need alongside robust ethnic diversity.

The Hempstead district itself has undergone significant changes in recent years. It is now an authorized International Baccalaureate district, offering both the Primary Years Programme for elementary grades and the Middle Years Programme in middle school, which reorients instruction toward inquiry-based learning across the schools. This pedagogical shift affects how students are taught from kindergarten forward and represents a deliberate choice the district is making about classroom practice. Concurrently, the district is executing a multi-year capital bond program that includes a new middle school (with a groundbreaking in October 2025) and building improvements such as window replacements at other schools. These facility investments reshape the physical environment students learn in.

The district remains under New York State oversight through an appointed state monitor who reviews budgets and academic and fiscal decisions and attends Board of Education meetings. This monitoring reflects longstanding governance and performance concerns that led to state intervention. For families evaluating schools in the district, this oversight is relevant context for understanding the district's current accountability structure and path forward.

Hempstead itself is New York's largest village and historically served as Nassau County's retail and commercial center. It has since experienced economic decline and is now in the midst of a major downtown revitalization effort that includes transit-oriented housing and mixed-use development. The community is ethnically diverse and sits within walking distance of the Rosa Parks Hempstead Transit Center, which anchors regional bus and rail service, as well as civic institutions including the Hempstead Public Library, cultural museums, and restaurants. Hofstra University and other colleges are nearby. The housing market in the broader area has seen price appreciation and modest increases in new and active listings, making it a place where families are actively investing.

For a high school student or family considering this school, the main questions to pursue directly would center on the academic pathways available, the specific courses and programs the school offers within the broader IB framework, college and career preparation programming, and how the school supports students toward graduation and post-secondary readiness. The state testing data gap warrants a conversation with school leadership about assessment practices and student achievement trends.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

81.0%Cohort of 458 students · Class of 2021

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

20 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

17 tested

47.1%

scored 3 or higher

Computer Science A

23 tested

13.0%

scored 3 or higher

Computer Science Principles

20 tested

30.0%

scored 3 or higher

Statistics

16 tested

18.8%

scored 3 or higher

Sciences

Biology

25 tested · Grade 10

36.0%

scored 3 or higher

Physics 1

1 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

English

Research

6 tested

83.3%

scored 3 or higher

Seminar

9 tested · Grade 10

55.6%

scored 3 or higher

History and Social Sciences

European History

1 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Human Geography

51 tested · Grade 9

58.8%

scored 3 or higher

Psychology

8 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

U.S. History

44 tested

56.8%

scored 3 or higher

World Languages and Cultures

French Language and Culture

4 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Spanish Language and Culture

29 tested

86.2%

scored 3 or higher

Spanish Literature and Culture

5 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Arts

Art History

1 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Other

Language and Comp

61 tested

21.3%

scored 3 or higher

Literature and Comp

45 tested

51.1%

scored 3 or higher

U S Government and Politics

22 tested

54.5%

scored 3 or higher

World History

92 tested · Grade 10

44.6%

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
Ela	489	63.0%
Social Studies	475	66.0%
Science	311	27.0%
Math	80	8.0%

Math

Grade 80%

School 0% · district not reported

▼ 37 pts below state median · ▼ 38 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 30% · ▼ 30 pts below district

▼ 48 pts below state median · ▼ 56 pts below county median

Science

Grade 80%

School 0% · district not reported

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

This schoolHEMPSTEAD 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.