Great Hollow Middle School, Nesconset NY

Original Research by School Decision on Great Hollow Middle School

Great Hollow Middle School serves grades six through eight in Nesconset, a residential suburb in Suffolk County on Long Island. The school is part of Smithtown Central School District, which has recently completed a multi-year facilities investment program funded by a capital bond and has maintained property tax levies at or near the state allowable maximum, a pattern families should be aware of when considering the area's cost of living.

Nesconset itself is a car-dependent, tree-lined community of single-family homes with limited walkability. Daily life centers on residential neighborhoods and a commercial strip along Smithtown Boulevard rather than a traditional downtown. Parks, a branch library, and local bus service anchor the hamlet, with commuter rail access through the nearby Smithtown station.

The school's enrollment is moderate for its grade band, with a student body that is predominantly white, reflecting broader Nesconset demographics. About one in nine students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available.

On state assessments, Great Hollow's math and English Language Arts results show mixed performance across grades. Sixth graders posted solid proficiency in both subjects, seventh graders performed well in math and at the middle range in ELA, and eighth graders showed notably lower results, particularly in math where only about four in ten tested students met proficiency. In eighth-grade science, about half of tested students were proficient. The participation rates on these assessments are low across grades six through eight, ranging from about one-fifth to about three-fifths, suggesting either a high share of students taking alternative assessments, absences on test days, or other factors a parent may want to clarify with the school. When measured across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among Suffolk County school districts, indicating strong relative standing despite the grade-eight dip.

The pronounced decline in eighth-grade performance deserves attention. While sixth-grade results are encouraging and seventh-grade math is solid, eighth-grade math and science proficiency are weak. A parent should ask the school directly whether this reflects the transition to more advanced content, whether eighth graders face particular challenges in specific courses, and what supports exist to help students who fall below proficiency.

The school is a standard public middle school with no charter, magnet, or Title I designation. Information about special programs, staffing ratios, attendance patterns, discipline policies, and detailed course offerings was not available. The school's website was not provided in available data, so prospective families would benefit from contacting the district or visiting in person to learn about course progression, extracurriculars, and classroom practices.

Nesconset's housing market is tight and expensive, with home values well above state and national medians and prices rising year over year. Rental availability is also limited. The community is growing incrementally through scattered new single-family construction and a few multifamily projects, but supply remains constrained. This context matters for families considering a move: the residential setting and school quality draw residents, but housing costs and property taxes are substantial.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Advanced Placement & IB

1 subject 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

Sciences

Biology

1 tested · HS

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

New York Regents Exams

1 course 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	97	100.0%

Math

Grade 673%

School 73% · District 65% · ▲ 8 pts above district

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

Grade 775%

School 75% · District 75%

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

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 44% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 665%

School 65% · District 60% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 760%

School 60% · District 58% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 864%

School 64% · District 60% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 856%

School 56% · District 57% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 896%

School 96% · district not reported

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

This schoolSMITHTOWN 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-income44%Higher-income70%26 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income27%Higher-income65%38 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income38%Higher-income70%32 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income55%Higher-income77%21 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income50%Higher-income80%30 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income23%Higher-income47%24 pp gap