Smithtown High School East, Saint James NY

Original Research by School Decision on Smithtown High School East

Smithtown High School East is a mid-sized public high school serving grades nine through twelve in Saint James, a residential hamlet on Long Island's North Shore. The school draws students from the Smithtown Central School District, which covers Saint James, Smithtown, Nesconset, and Kings Park.

The student body is predominantly white, with most students from families above the poverty line. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, suggesting a generally middle-to-upper-income enrollment. The racial composition is reflective of the broader North Shore Long Island demographic profile, with small representations of Asian, Hispanic, Black, and multiracial students.

The school sits on a campus setting typical of suburban Long Island high schools, separate from the historic Lake Avenue commercial corridor that anchors Saint James village life. It is situated in a region with established single-family neighborhoods, tree-lined streets, and a slower pace, though the area is car-dependent and oriented toward suburban amenities rather than walkable downtown life. The housing market in the 11780 postal zone reflects the affluence of the North Shore: properties are valued in a range well above state and national medians, and the market has shown modest appreciation over the past year. Days on market are relatively brief, indicating steady demand, though inventory supply has tightened. For families considering the area, housing affordability requires a household income well above the national average, and both purchase and rental costs are substantial.

State assessment data and a graduation rate for this school were not available, so it is not possible to report on academic proficiency or college-readiness outcomes. No data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, course offerings, AP or other advanced pathways, or staffing were provided. This gap in outcome data is common for individual schools when state reporting focuses at the district level or when alternative assessment methods apply to this setting. A parent interested in academic performance would benefit from contacting the school or district directly for proficiency metrics, course breadth, and other program details.

The Smithtown Central School District itself has undergone significant infrastructure investment. Voters approved a capital bond for districtwide facility upgrades including HVAC and fresh-air systems, fire-alarm replacements, and structural repairs across all buildings, with the work spread over multiple years on a tax-neutral basis. In recent budgets, the district has set its property tax levy at the maximum allowable under New York State's tax cap, a pattern that suggests stable but elevated operational costs and a trend families weighing relocation to the area should factor into their housing-affordability calculations.

Saint James is anchored by the historic LIRR station and the oldest continuously operating general store in the country, serving as civic landmarks alongside county parkland including Deepwells Farm. The area is experiencing long-term downtown revitalization centered on Lake Avenue, supported by infrastructure improvements and sewer upgrades. A large subdivision development on Route 25A, the Flowerfield project, is also underway and has drawn local debate over density and rural character. These shifts suggest a community in transition from a quieter, historically oriented hamlet toward more mixed-use and residential development.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students graduate and prepare for what comes next.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

98.0%Cohort of 391 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

27 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

53 tested

79.2%

scored 3 or higher

Calculus BC

28 tested

85.7%

scored 3 or higher

Computer Science A

8 tested · Grade 10

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Computer Science Principles

9 tested · Grade 9, Grade 10

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Statistics

52 tested · Grade 10

73.1%

scored 3 or higher

Sciences

Biology

121 tested · Grade 10

84.3%

scored 3 or higher

Chemistry

66 tested · Grade 10

84.8%

scored 3 or higher

Environmental Science

18 tested · Grade 10

50.0%

scored 3 or higher

Physics 1

48 tested · Grade 10

70.8%

scored 3 or higher

Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism

15 tested

66.7%

scored 3 or higher

Physics C: Mechanics

15 tested

86.7%

scored 3 or higher

English

Research

77 tested

84.4%

scored 3 or higher

Seminar

136 tested

91.9%

scored 3 or higher

History and Social Sciences

Comparative Government and Politics

38 tested

63.2%

scored 3 or higher

European History

16 tested · Grade 10

56.3%

scored 3 or higher

Human Geography

17 tested · Grade 10

29.4%

scored 3 or higher

Macroeconomics

30 tested

56.7%

scored 3 or higher

Psychology

55 tested · Grade 10

49.1%

scored 3 or higher

U.S. History

134 tested

82.8%

scored 3 or higher

Arts

Music Theory

8 tested · Grade 10

50.0%

scored 3 or higher

Studio Art Drawing

7 tested

57.1%

scored 3 or higher

Other

Language and Comp

46 tested

76.1%

scored 3 or higher

Literature and Comp

33 tested

93.9%

scored 3 or higher

Studio Art 2d Design

2 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

Studio Art 3d Design

1 tested

0.0%

scored 3 or higher

U S Government and Politics

8 tested

100.0%

scored 3 or higher

World History

103 tested · Grade 10

93.2%

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	365	95.0%
Social Studies	332	97.0%
Math	263	82.0%
Science	208	85.0%

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.