Ten schools lost 25+ points of math proficiency since 2018
The question
Which New York City elementary schools posted the biggest declines in math performance since 2018-19 — and what's going on at them?
Ten New York City elementary schools lost 25 percentage points or more on their fifth-grade math proficiency rate between 2018-19 and 2024-25 — moving in the opposite direction of the citywide trend, which added about 10 points. Six of the 10 are in Brooklyn, three in the Bronx, one in Manhattan. Brooklyn New School (P.S. 146) tops the list at −52 points, but most of that is a testing-opt-out artifact (covered in its own story). The other nine schools tested normal-sized groups of students and posted real declines — Walton Avenue in the Bronx went from 86% proficient to 46% over six years.
Data analysis
Investigation run 2026-05-31.
TL;DR
Ten New York City schools lost 25 percentage points or more on fifth-grade math proficiency between 2018-19 and 2024-25, opposite to the citywide trend (+10 points). Six are in Brooklyn, three in the Bronx, one in Manhattan. Brooklyn New School is the headline at −52 points, but most of that is testing opt-out (see its own story). The other nine lost real ground. Two or three are worth profiling in depth.
Ten biggest declines on fifth-grade math (2018-19 to 2024-25)
| School | Borough | 2018-19 | 2024-25 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn New School (P.S. 146) | Brooklyn | 70.0% | 18.2% | −51.8 |
| Walton Avenue School | Bronx | 85.5% | 45.5% | −40.0 |
| P.S./M.S. 280 Mosholu Parkway | Bronx | 68.3% | 29.1% | −39.2 |
| P.S. 25 Eubie Blake | Brooklyn | 50.0% | 14.3% | −35.7 |
| P.S. 26 Jesse Owens | Brooklyn | 62.2% | 30.8% | −31.4 |
| P.S. 69 Journey Prep | Bronx | 72.6% | 41.3% | −31.4 |
| Brighter Choice Community School | Brooklyn | 41.4% | 11.1% | −30.3 |
| P.S. 64 Robert Simon | Manhattan | 42.9% | 13.6% | −29.2 |
| P.S./I.S. 218 Rafael Hernandez Dual Language | Bronx | 51.5% | 25.0% | −26.5 |
| P.S. 295 | Brooklyn | 75.9% | 50.0% | −25.9 |
Brooklyn New School is testing opt-out, not academic decline
Brooklyn New School (P.S. 146) tests about 11 of its roughly 100 fifth-graders each year, the result of a longstanding parent-led testing opt-out movement. See the dedicated story for the breakdown. The other nine schools on this list test normal-sized groups of students and posted real declines in performance.
P.S./I.S. 218 dual-language magnet — context
P.S. 218 is a Bronx dual-language magnet school that lost 26.5 percentage points. Dual-language schools' reading scores typically run lower because they enroll more students learning English. But math is more language-neutral, and a 26-point math decline is harder to explain by program design. Worth checking whether the school's enrolled cohort shifted over the period.
Cluster patterns
Most of the decliners are zoned or open-application neighborhood schools, not selective ones. None are charters (charter test data isn't in our database). Several are in Brooklyn's District 15 and Bronx Districts 9 and 10 — districts where enrollment has also been dropping. A possible pattern: as a school's enrollment shrinks, its strongest teachers may leave, and the remaining cohort becomes less stable.
What's next
Profile Walton Avenue School in the Bronx — went from 86% proficient to 46% over six years. It's a normal-enrollment school where the change is most likely a real performance decline rather than a testing artifact. Interview the principal, look at staffing changes over the period.
Methodology & replication recipe — the data sources, queries, and steps behind this analysis.