North Shore Middle School, Glen Head NY

Original Research by School Decision on North Shore Middle School

North Shore Middle School serves grades 6 through 8 in Glen Head, a long-established, affluent residential hamlet on Long Island's North Shore. The school draws from a community built out mostly as single-family homes and estates, with the newly relocated Gold Coast Public Library and Glen Head Station anchoring local life. Housing values in the area are substantial, and the school sits within the North Shore Central School District, which also serves nearby Glenwood Landing, Sea Cliff, Old Brookville, and parts of Greenvale and Roslyn Harbor.

The school enrolls a moderate-sized cohort of students across its three grades, with a student body that is predominantly white, with smaller shares of students identifying as Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial. A small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the area's economic profile. Data on students with individualized education plans and English learners was not available.

In mathematics, North Shore Middle shows strong performance in grades 6 and 7. Sixth-grade proficiency is notably high, and seventh-grade results remain well above state norms. However, grade 8 mathematics proficiency drops sharply, with fewer than two-thirds of tested students meeting proficiency. The tested participation in grade 8 is also much lower than in earlier grades, which may reflect course acceleration or tracking; a parent may want to look into the eighth-grade math pathway directly with the school to understand how students are placed and what that transition looks like.

In English language arts, results show a declining arc across grades. Sixth graders post proficiency above state norms, seventh graders remain solidly proficient, but by eighth grade proficiency dips into the low to mid range. Science testing was not administered at grade 8 in the most recent year, and social studies testing data available is from 2009-10, so current performance in those subjects is not reflected here.

Across tested subjects and grades, North Shore Middle's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint among districts in Nassau County, a meaningful strength. The school's math results in the earlier grades are among its clearest assets.

The district recently voted to approve a tax-neutral capital improvement plan that includes athletic field upgrades and air conditioning installations. More significantly, the district adopted new elementary literacy curricula (CKLA for grades K-3 and HMH for grades 4-5) in response to state guidance on evidence-based reading instruction, a change that signals institutional attention to foundational skills. The operating budget for 2026-27 reflects among the higher per-pupil spending levels in the region, a measure of the district's resourcing.

For families considering North Shore Middle, the school presents a traditional middle-grades setting in a well-resourced district serving an affluent community. The strength in sixth- and seventh-grade mathematics is clear, as is the overall performance standing relative to peers. The gap in eighth-grade math warrants direct inquiry, as does the general downward trend in ELA performance across the grade band. With science and social studies testing data absent or outdated, the picture of academic breadth remains incomplete.

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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	205	91.0%
Math	8	100.0%

Math

Grade 697%

School 97% · District 97%

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

Grade 795%

School 95% · District 95%

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 857%

School 57% · District 57%

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

English language arts

Grade 680%

School 80% · District 80%

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 785%

School 85% · District 85%

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

Grade 872%

School 72% · District 72%

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Science

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 0%

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

Social studies

Grade 891%

School 91% · district not reported

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

This schoolNORTH SHORE 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 6Lower-income72%Higher-income81%9 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income83%Higher-income85%2 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income79%Higher-income71%8 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income94%Higher-income97%3 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income100%Higher-income94%6 pp gap