Patchogue-medford High School, Medford NY

Original Research by School Decision on Patchogue-medford High School

Patchogue-Medford High School is a regular four-year public high school serving grades nine through twelve in Medford, a post-WWII suburban hamlet in central Long Island's Town of Brookhaven. The school draws an enrollment that is close to the size typical for a mid-sized high school in Suffolk County.

The student body reflects the broader character of Long Island's suburban diversification. A majority of students are Hispanic, with substantial white enrollment and smaller Black and Asian populations. A meaningful share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, situating the school in a mixed-income community rather than an affluent one. Data on the student's special education enrollment and English learner population was not available in the sources reviewed, limiting a complete picture of the school's support infrastructure for these groups.

State assessment results and graduation data were not provided, so a reader cannot see how the school's students perform on Regents exams or what its four-year graduation rate is. This is a gap worth clarifying directly with the school or district if academic outcomes are a primary concern for your family. The district as a whole does not appear in publicly reported proficiency comparisons, making county-level benchmarking difficult from available data.

What is clear is that the physical learning environment is in transition. In May 2024, Patchogue-Medford voters approved a capital bond that includes air conditioning and climate control in all classrooms, gymnasiums, and cafeterias across the district. This is significant: prior to this vote, classroom climate had been a concern for years. A 2022 bond proposal to fund ventilation and air conditioning failed, drawing pushback on tax impact. The new 2024 bond passed, and work has begun. Alongside the climate upgrades, the district is funding major athletic facility improvements at the high school—a new turf multi-purpose field, new lighting, LED video scoreboards, and a new grandstand with press box at Raider Stadium. These are multi-year projects that will noticeably change the building's infrastructure and atmosphere over the next few years. For families considering the school, this is ongoing improvement, though tax implications of the bond should factor into housing-cost calculations.

The district has also adopted TeachTown's enCORE standards-based curriculum for students with moderate to severe disabilities, a shift that began in 2023-2024 and has expanded. Early results show students using this adapted core curriculum scoring at proficiency rates notably higher than peers in other programs on the state alternate assessment.

Medford itself is a car-dependent residential and commercial community with little pedestrian street life. Housing values in the area are moderate for the Island, with median listing prices and home values at or slightly below the county median. The Medford LIRR station provides commuter rail access, though ridership is light. This is a quiet suburban setting, not a walkable village center, oriented toward families who drive to work and school and to regional destinations for services and entertainment.

State testing results, graduation rates, and a fuller profile of academic programs, course offerings, and staffing were not available to assess. A parent considering this school should ask the district or school directly for proficiency data, graduation outcomes, course breadth (including AP, dual-credit, and career pathways), and details about how the school supports English learners and students with disabilities. The bond-funded facility improvements suggest the district is investing in the physical conditions for learning; whether those conditions are matched by strong academics and student outcomes requires direct inquiry.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students graduate and prepare for what comes next.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

88.0%Cohort of 613 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

22 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

29 tested

55.2%

scored 3 or higher

Calculus BC

16 tested

68.8%

scored 3 or higher

Computer Science A

24 tested · Grade 10

50.0%

scored 3 or higher

Sciences

Biology

95 tested · Grade 10

82.1%

scored 3 or higher

Chemistry

66 tested · Grade 10

87.9%

scored 3 or higher

Environmental Science

51 tested · Grade 10

56.9%

scored 3 or higher

English

Research

23 tested

91.3%

scored 3 or higher

Seminar

33 tested · Grade 10

93.9%

scored 3 or higher

History and Social Sciences

European History

25 tested

72.0%

scored 3 or higher

Human Geography

25 tested · Grade 10

92.0%

scored 3 or higher

Microeconomics

40 tested

55.0%

scored 3 or higher

Psychology

48 tested

79.2%

scored 3 or higher

U.S. History

142 tested

83.1%

scored 3 or higher

World Languages and Cultures

French Language and Culture

3 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Spanish Language and Culture

15 tested

80.0%

scored 3 or higher

Arts

Studio Art Drawing

2 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Other

Language and Comp

149 tested

47.0%

scored 3 or higher

Literature and Comp

60 tested

85.0%

scored 3 or higher

Studio Art 2d Design

3 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Studio Art 3d Design

1 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

U S Government and Politics

39 tested

94.9%

scored 3 or higher

World History

145 tested · Grade 10

66.9%

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
Science	762	66.0%
Ela	677	78.0%
Social Studies	676	82.0%
Math	314	89.0%

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.