Best Middle Schools in New York, NY (2025-26)

Ranked middle schools

Listed, not ranked

Every ranked middle school in New York, NY, ordered by SchoolGrade. A grade rewards actual test performance against the projection for each school's student context, so a B in a high-poverty school can outrank an A- elsewhere on impact. Click a column heading to sort, or filter by school, city or district.

New York, NY rankings: High Schools · Middle Schools · Elementary Schools

New York, NY middle schools ranked

Rank	Grade	School	City	District	Actual	Projected	Impact	Students
#1	A+	Ms 255 Salk School Of Science	New York		95%	62%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	364
#2	A+	Nyc Lab Ms For Collaborative Studies	New York		89%	47%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	519
#3	A+	Jhs 54 Booker T Washington	New York		88%	56%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	724
#4	A+	East Side Middle School	New York		86%	51%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	421
#5	A+	Yorkville East Middle School	New York		84%	51%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	256
#6	A	Jhs 104 Simon Baruch	New York		83%	58%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	891
#7	A	Jhs 167 Robert F Wagner	New York		83%	60%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	1,019
#8	A	Is 289	New York		82%	48%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	239
#9	A	Ms 243 Center School	New York		81%	59%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	252
#10	A	Ms 245 Computer School (the)	New York		80%	55%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	352
#11	A	New York City Charter School Of The Arts (Charter)	New York	New York City Charter School of the Arts	79%	26%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	217
#12	A-	Lower Manhattan Community Middle School	New York		77%	45%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	328
#13	A-	Lafayette Academy	New York		75%	36%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	160
#14	B	Mott Hall School (the)	New York		64%	32%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	245
#15	C+	School For Global Leaders	New York		58%	22%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	151
#16	C+	Ms 131	New York		55%	31%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	236
#17	C-	Mott Hall Ii	New York		49%	25%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	359
#18	C-	Ms 324 Patria Mirabal	New York		49%	21%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	221
#19	C-	Tompkins Square Middle School	New York		48%	27%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	323
#20	C-	Ms 224 Manhattan East School For Arts & Academics (Magnet)	New York		46%	32%	Exceeds Expectations	185
#21	D+	Ms 297	New York		45%	35%	Meets Expectations	422
#22	D+	Ms 247 Dual Language Middle School	New York		41%	37%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	199
#23	D	Hamilton Grange Middle School	New York		40%	24%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	311
#24	D	Ms 319 Marie Teresa	New York		40%	25%	Exceeds Expectations	236
#25	D	Is 528 Bea Fuller Rodgers School	New York		37%	18%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	249
#26	D	Isaac Newton Middle School For Math And Science	New York		36%	36%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	312
#27	D-	Community Action School-ms 258	New York		35%	21%	Exceeds Expectations	122
#28	D-	St Hope Leadership Academy Charter School (Charter)	New York	St. Hope Leadership Academy Charter School	34%	17%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	227
#29	D-	Middle School 322	New York		33%	15%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	245
#30	D-	Renaissance School Of The Arts	New York		31%	19%	Exceeds Expectations	151
#31	F	Community Math And Science Prep	New York		31%	16%	Exceeds Expectations	133
#32	F	West Prep Academy (Magnet)	New York		31%	37%	Underperforms Expectations	168
#33	F	Jhs 143 Eleanor Roosevelt	New York		28%	32%	Underperforms Expectations	193
#34	F	University Neighborhood Middle School	New York		28%	22%	Meets Expectations	160
#35	F	Urban Assembly Academy For Future Leaders	New York		28%	20%	Meets Expectations	73
#36	F	Harold O Levy School	New York		21%	24%	Underperforms Expectations	143
#37	F	New Design Middle School	New York		17%	21%	Underperforms Expectations	73
#38	F	Seed Harlem	New York		13%	23%	Underperforms Expectations	127

How New York, NY's middle schools compare

A: 13B: 1C: 6D: 10F: 8

37% of the 38 ranked middle schools in New York, NY earn an A or B (13 A grades, 1 B, 6 C, 10 D, 8 F), against 46% of middle schools nationwide. 31 schools meet or beat the proficiency projected from their student context (82% here, 70% nationally), and 28 exceed it. On average 53% of tested students meet the state bar against a projected 34% (national averages: 45% actual, 38% projected).

The biggest overperformers, by actual proficiency above projection: New York City Charter School Of The Arts (79% against 26%, A), Nyc Lab Ms For Collaborative Studies (89% against 47%, A+), Lafayette Academy (75% against 36%, A-), School For Global Leaders (58% against 22%, C+), East Side Middle School (86% against 51%, A+).

The largest ranked middle schools: Jhs 167 Robert F Wagner (1,019 students, A, #7), Jhs 104 Simon Baruch (891 students, A, #6), Jhs 54 Booker T Washington (724 students, A+, #3).

Of the top 25, 1 is a magnet school and 1 is a charter. Selective and specialised schools tend to post high actual scores; the projection column is the fairer comparison for a neighborhood school.

Middle schools in New York, NY that are not ranked

2 graded middle schools are listed here rather than ranked, each for the reason given. Every one has its own page with its full SchoolGrade report.

Not yet graded (2)

Our source data has no school-level proficiency results for these schools, so they carry no SchoolGrade yet.

City Knoll Middle School, New York
Harbor Heights, New York

About this ranking

Scope: public middle schools in New York, NY, as grouped on its schools page; the New York ranking covers the whole state.
Order: SchoolGrade, then actual proficiency, then name; schools with the same grade and score share a rank.
Ranked: regular public schools that NCES lists as open, not fully online, with at least 30 students. Others are listed with the reason.
Tags: Magnet and Charter from the NCES school directory; K-12 marks schools serving every grade that are ranked with the middle schools.
Grades are the 2025-26 SchoolGrade model. How SchoolGrade works

Questions about middle schools in New York, NY

What is the best middle school in New York, NY?

Ms 255 Salk School Of Science in New York ranks first among the 38 ranked middle schools in New York, NY with a SchoolGrade of A+, 95% of tested students meeting the state bar against a projected 62%.

How are middle schools in New York, NY ranked?

By SchoolGrade, the 2025-26 model that scores each school's actual test proficiency against the level projected for its student context, then by actual proficiency to break ties. Regular public schools that are open, not fully online and have at least 30 students are ranked; the rest are listed below the table with the reason.

How many middle schools does New York, NY have?

SchoolGrade grades 40 public middle schools in New York, NY; 38 are ranked here and 2 are listed as not ranked.