P.S. 165 Robert E. Simon

234 West 109 Street, Manhattan, NY 10025 · Manhattan · Elementary

DBN: 03M165

Elementary

Zoned: Elementary

SchoolDigger: 1318 (of 2445)

Niche: B

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: 89.2%

57.8% attend 90%+ of days

Subject

Student group

Overall proficiency

ELA % proficient

54.3%(citywide avg: 62%)

ELA avg. rating

3.10 / 4.5(citywide avg: 3.18 / 4.5)

Math % proficient

46.1%(citywide avg: 62.2%)

Math avg. rating

2.86 / 4.5(citywide avg: 3.17 / 4.5)

By grade

Grade 3 ELA

47.7%

Grade 3 Math

49.2%

Grade 4 ELA

56.3%

Grade 4 Math

52.9%

Grade 5 ELA

58.7%

Grade 5 Math

38.7%

By student group

English Language Learners -- ELA

31.8%(citywide avg: 37%)

English Language Learners -- Math

40%(citywide avg: 51.4%)

Students with disabilities -- ELA

4.8%

Students with disabilities -- Math

2.4%

Black students -- ELA

26.1%(citywide avg: 36.5%)

Black students -- Math

26.1%(citywide avg: 44.1%)

Hispanic/Latino students -- ELA

44.1%(citywide avg: 53.6%)

Hispanic/Latino students -- Math

31.7%(citywide avg: 52.4%)

White students -- ELA

87.8%(citywide avg: 86.4%)

White students -- Math

81.6%(citywide avg: 89.2%)

"% 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

455 students enrolled

Economic Need Index: 51.69%

Race & ethnicity

Asian and Pacific Islander

8.35%

Black

13.85%

Hispanic or Latino

42.86%

White

28.57%

Multiracial

5.93%

Native American

0.44%

Missing race/ethnicity data

Other groups

Students with disabilities

23.3%

English Language Learners

8.57%

Living in poverty

49.23%

Female

49.01%

Male

50.99%

Neither female nor male

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))

Kindergarten admissions priority breakdown

Admissions cycle

For seats starting the 2025-26 school year. NYC DOE reports these seat/applicant figures under the school year they're for, not the cycle that filled them.

District G&T

25 seats

Not all seats filled last year

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

1. Eligible applicants who live in the district whose verified siblings will be enrolled in the school in September 2025.

Not enough data

All applicants in this group received offers last year.

2. Eligible applicants who live outside the district whose verified siblings will be enrolled in the school in September 2025.

Not enough data

All applicants in this group received offers last year.

3. Eligible applicants who live in the district.

Not enough data

Some applicants in this group received offers last year.

4. All other eligible applicants.

Not enough data

No applicants in this group received offers last year.

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) →

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