P.S. 256 Benjamin Banneker

114 KOSCIUSZKO STREET, BROOKLYN, NY 11216 · Brooklyn · Elementary

DBN: 13K256

Elementary

Zoned: Elementary

SchoolDigger: 2329 (of 2445)

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: 85.4%

46.2% attend 90%+ of days

Subject

Student group

Overall proficiency

ELA % proficient

29.2%(citywide avg: 49.3%)

ELA avg. rating

2.44 / 4.5(citywide avg: 2.93 / 4.5)

Math % proficient

25.6%(citywide avg: 50.8%)

Math avg. rating

2.37 / 4.5(citywide avg: 2.94 / 4.5)

By grade

Grade 3 ELA

23.1%

Grade 3 Math

25.9%

Grade 4 ELA

33.3%

Grade 4 Math

20%

Grade 5 ELA

30.3%

Grade 5 Math

30.3%

By student group

English Language Learners -- ELA

10%(citywide avg: 28.4%)

English Language Learners -- Math

15%(citywide avg: 40.4%)

Students with disabilities -- ELA

13.6%

Students with disabilities -- Math

9.1%

Black students -- ELA

30.6%(citywide avg: 50.9%)

Black students -- Math

26%(citywide avg: 50.1%)

Hispanic/Latino students -- ELA

31%(citywide avg: 51.4%)

Hispanic/Latino students -- Math

27.6%(citywide avg: 52.7%)

"% 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 (2023-24 school year)

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

Demographics

212 students enrolled

Economic Need Index: 83.8%

Race & ethnicity

Asian

3.8%

Black

54.2%

Hispanic or Latino

37.7%

White

2.8%

Multiracial

0.5%

Native American

0.9%

Other groups

Students with disabilities

13.2%

English Language Learners

17.5%

Living in poverty

84.9%

Female

52.8%

Male

47.2%

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 Open Data: Demographic Snapshot (2021-22 school year)

Kindergarten admissions priority breakdown

Admissions cycle

Zoned

40 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. Students who live in the zone and have a sibling at the school.

~100% admitted

There were fewer than 5 applicants in this group and all received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~10% 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. Other students who live in the zone.

~100% admitted

There were about 5 applicants in this group and all received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~13% 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. Students who live in the district and have a sibling at the school.

~100% admitted

4. Students who live outside the district and have a sibling at the school.

~100% admitted

5. Students who live in the district who are currently enrolled at the school for pre-K.

No applicants

There were no applicants in this group.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).

6. Students who live outside the district who are currently enrolled at the school for pre-K.

~100% admitted

7. Other students who live in the district.

~100% admitted

8. Other students who live outside the district.

~100% admitted

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 (2025-26 admissions cycle)