M.S. 255 Salk School of Science

320 EAST 20 STREET, MANHATTAN, NY 10003 · Manhattan · Junior High-Intermediate-Middle

DBN: 02M255

Junior High-Intermediate-Middle

Unzoned

SchoolDigger: 52 (of 1500)

Niche: A · 62 (of 1507)

Academic quality

ELA = English Language Arts (reading and writing). Math and Science are self-explanatory.
NY State tests ELA and Math every year in grades 3-8, and Science once, in grade 8 -- a school's numbers below only reflect whichever of those grades it actually serves (no social studies/history state test exists at this level).
"Avg. rating" is DOE's average student score on a 1.0-4.5 scale (higher is better) -- shown here as "value / 4.5" alongside the citywide average for the same metric as a benchmark for what's typical.

Attendance: 95.2%

91.4% attend 90%+ of days

Subject

Student group

Overall proficiency

ELA % proficient

87%(citywide avg: 90.8%)

ELA avg. rating

3.74 / 4.5(citywide avg: 3.85 / 4.5)

Math % proficient

90%(citywide avg: 89.4%)

Math avg. rating

3.84 / 4.5(citywide avg: 3.87 / 4.5)

By grade

Grade 6 ELA

88.3%

Grade 6 Math

85.2%

Grade 7 ELA

91.4%

Grade 7 Math

93.2%

Grade 8 ELA

80.6%

Grade 8 Math

92.6%

By student group

Students with disabilities -- ELA

53.1%

Students with disabilities -- Math

60%

Asian students -- ELA

90.6%(citywide avg: 92.1%)

Asian students -- Math

94.8%(citywide avg: 93.3%)

Hispanic/Latino students -- ELA

67.6%(citywide avg: 73.2%)

Hispanic/Latino students -- Math

78.8%(citywide avg: 74.1%)

White students -- ELA

89.6%(citywide avg: 91%)

White students -- Math

88.1%(citywide avg: 86.8%)

Multiracial students -- ELA

83.3%(citywide avg: 85.4%)

Multiracial students -- Math

95.3%(citywide avg: 90.2%)

"% proficient" is the share of students scoring Level 3 or 4 on the state test. Citywide comparisons are the average across schools of the same type. Grades and groups with very few tested students are flagged since a handful of kids can swing the percentage a lot; groups too small to report are omitted by DOE for student privacy -- that's also why Science, tested only once, shows up far less often than ELA/Math.Source: NYC Open Data: School Quality Reports Data (2024-25 school year (latest published; checked Oct 16, 2026))

See full grade-by-grade test results (ELA, Math, Science) →

Demographics

376 students enrolled

Economic Need Index: 23.39%

Race & ethnicity

Asian and Pacific Islander

33.24%

Black

2.66%

Hispanic or Latino

10.9%

White

40.96%

Multiracial

11.44%

Native American

0.53%

Missing race/ethnicity data

0.27%

Other groups

Students with disabilities

22.87%

English Language Learners

1.6%

Living in poverty

20.21%

Female

45.74%

Male

53.99%

Neither female nor male

0.27%

Economic Need Index is DOE's estimate of the share of students facing economic hardship, based on eligibility for public assistance, temporary housing status, and household income relative to the poverty line. Some very high values are reported by DOE only as "Above 95%" for student privacy and are shown here as 95%.Source: NYC DOE: Demographic Snapshot (2025-26 school year (latest published; checked Oct 16, 2026))

Middle School admissions priority breakdown

Admissions cycle

For seats starting the 2026-27 school year. NYC DOE reports these seat/applicant figures under the school year they're for, not the cycle that filled them.

Open

102 seats

4 applicants per seat

Priority groups, in the order NYC DOE offers seats. Tap a group for NYC DOE's exact wording.

1. Priority to applicants whose sibling(s) will be enrolled in this school next year

~100% admitted

There were fewer than 10 applicants eligible for free or reduced price lunch in this group and all received offers last year. There were about 10 additional applicants in this group and all received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~19% of the program's seats -- not the same as this group's own admit rate above, since offers can exceed seats (not everyone who gets one enrolls).

2. Then to students and residents of District 2

~38% admitted

There were about 70 applicants eligible for free or reduced price lunch in this group and about 30 received offers last year. There were about 250 additional applicants in this group and about 90 received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~118% of the program's seats -- not the same as this group's own admit rate above, since offers can exceed seats (not everyone who gets one enrolls).

3. Then to New York City residents

~0% admitted

There were about 30 applicants eligible for free or reduced price lunch in this group and none received offers last year. There were about 60 additional applicants in this group and none received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~0% of the program's seats -- not the same as this group's own admit rate above, since offers can exceed seats (not everyone who gets one enrolls).

Estimates derived from NYC DOE's own wording, which rounds and fuzzes small numbers for privacy. Each group's applicant count is independent of the others -- schools are usually oversubscribed, so applicant counts across groups often add up to more than the total seats. That's expected, not an error.Source: NYC DOE MySchools Admissions Data (Through the 2025-26 cycle for middle school, 2024-25 for kindergarten (2025-26 kindergarten results not yet published; checked Oct 16, 2026))

See your own chances here

Which priority group your child falls into decides the odds above. The iPhone app works that out from your address and answers, then builds your whole ranked MySchools list. How it works

Download on theApp Store

School survey

Family, student, and teacher responses on instruction, safety, school climate, and family engagement.

See detailed school survey results (Families, Students, Teachers) →

More District 2 schools

All District 2 schools →