M.S. 035 Stephen Decatur

272 Macdonough Street, Brooklyn, NY 11233 · Brooklyn · Junior High-Intermediate-Middle

DBN: 16K035

Junior High-Intermediate-Middle

Unzoned

SchoolDigger: 256 (of 1500)

Niche: B+ · 381 (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: 89.8%

66.5% attend 90%+ of days

Subject

Student group

Overall proficiency

ELA % proficient

69.6%(citywide avg: 47.5%)

ELA avg. rating

3.32 / 4.5(citywide avg: 2.88 / 4.5)

Math % proficient

57%(citywide avg: 39.1%)

Math avg. rating

3.06 / 4.5(citywide avg: 2.70 / 4.5)

Science % proficient (Grade 8 only)

60.4%

Science avg. rating (Grade 8 only)

3.04 / 4.5

By grade

Grade 6 ELA

60.3%

Grade 6 Math

49.2%

Grade 7 ELA

65.1%

Grade 7 Math

71.4%

Grade 8 ELA

84.2%

Grade 8 Math

54.7%

By student group

Students with disabilities -- ELA

44.4%

Students with disabilities -- Math

34.5%

Black students -- ELA

69.7%(citywide avg: 47.6%)

Black students -- Math

57.5%(citywide avg: 38%)

Hispanic/Latino students -- ELA

68.2%(citywide avg: 56.3%)

Hispanic/Latino students -- Math

60%(citywide avg: 50.1%)

"% 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

198 students enrolled

Economic Need Index: 86.39%

Race & ethnicity

Asian and Pacific Islander

Black

85.35%

Hispanic or Latino

11.62%

White

Multiracial

2.53%

Native American

0.51%

Missing race/ethnicity data

Other groups

Students with disabilities

38.38%

English Language Learners

2.02%

Living in poverty

88.89%

Female

55.56%

Male

44.44%

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))

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

66 seats

1 applicants per seat

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

~100% admitted

There were fewer than 10 applicants in this group and all received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~14% 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 District 16 students and residents

~100% admitted

There were about 40 applicants in this group and all received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~61% 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

~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 (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 16 schools

All District 16 schools →