Berner Middle School, Massapequa NY

Original Research by School Decision on Berner Middle School

Berner Middle School serves grades six through eight in Massapequa, a suburban hamlet on Long Island's South Shore within Nassau County. The school sits on its own campus at Carman Mill Road, removed from the walkable downtown core of nearby Massapequa Park, and feeds into Massapequa High School. It is a regular public school run by the Massapequa Union Free School District.

The school enrolls a small-to-mid-sized cohort across its three grades, with the population predominantly white and relatively affluent. Only a small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a generally higher-income community. Race and ethnicity data show the majority of students are white, with modest representation from Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial groups and very small numbers of Black and Native Hawaiian students.

Academic performance is mixed. In math, students in grade six show solid proficiency, while grade seven performance is notably stronger. By grade eight, proficiency in math declines noticeably. English language arts results are lower across all grades; only about three of five students in grades six and seven meet proficiency, and by grade eight fewer than three of five do. Science testing is limited to grade eight, where fewer than half of students tested meet proficiency. These figures place the school in the bottom quartile of Nassau County districts on overall proficiency. A parent may want to look into further what supports the school offers for students who are not proficient, how the curriculum is structured to address gaps as students progress, and what the school's strategy is for strengthening performance in middle grades, particularly in language arts and science.

One data note: the school's test participation rate is notably low, especially in eighth-grade math and science. The participation rate of around a quarter or fewer of enrolled students in those subjects suggests either that many eighth graders are not being tested (possibly due to placement in advanced, alternative, or special programs not reflected in standard state assessments) or that absences or other factors limit testing administration. The school would be a good place to ask directly what is driving this gap, as it affects how to read the proficiency figures.

The Massapequa district approved a major capital bond a few years ago, funding facility upgrades, equipment, and energy improvements across schools, with many projects completed and others ongoing. This has raised the district's tax obligations in the near term but has improved school buildings and grounds. The district is also engaged in a protracted dispute over its Native American mascot and logo; a state regulation requires removal, the district has pursued legal challenge, and outcomes remain uncertain, with implications for the district's name, branding, and potentially state funding that families may view as a source of instability or as a point of local values worth noting.

Housing in the immediate area is moderate-to-high in cost, reflecting Long Island's broader market. Ownership prices are stable with modest annual growth. The community itself is family-oriented, built out largely after World War II, and dominated by single-family homes on tree-lined streets. Walkability is uneven; neighborhoods are navigable on foot, but the area is car-oriented overall. The Massapequa Preserve, a large county park with trails and a fishing reservoir, is a civic anchor, and the LIRR Massapequa station offers access to New York City in roughly an hour.

Berner is a conventional public middle school serving a broadly middle-to-upper-middle-class suburban population. It faces moderate academic headwinds in language arts and science, and its testing participation rates warrant clarification. The district is stable in terms of facilities and staffing, but families may want to understand the school's approach to academic support and to weigh the ongoing mascot dispute as part of the district's cultural and legal environment.

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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	242	100.0%
Math	201	100.0%

Math

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 60% · ▼ 60 pts below district

▼ 51 pts below state median · ▼ 72 pts below county median

Grade 678%

School 78% · District 78%

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 781%

School 81% · District 81%

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 866%

School 66% · District 66%

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

English language arts

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 55% · ▼ 55 pts below district

▼ 54 pts below state median · ▼ 70 pts below county median

Grade 662%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 762%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 857%

School 57% · District 57%

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Science

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 59% · ▼ 59 pts below district

▼ 42 pts below state median · ▼ 60 pts below county median

Grade 847%

School 47% · District 47%

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

Social studies

Grade 897%

School 97% · district not reported

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

This schoolMASSAPEQUA 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 6Lower-income39%Higher-income64%25 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income36%Higher-income64%28 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income64%Higher-income57%8 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income53%Higher-income82%29 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income64%Higher-income82%19 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income57%Higher-income67%10 pp gap