P.S. 503: The School of Discovery

330 59 Street, Brooklyn, NY 11220 · Brooklyn · Elementary

DBN: 20K503

Elementary

Zoned: Elementary

SchoolDigger: 1133 (of 2445)

Niche: B · 987 (of 2807)

Zones into these middle schools

J.H.S. 220 John J. Pershing J.H.S. 227 Edward B. Shallow

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: 92.7%

71.9% attend 90%+ of days

Subject

Student group

Overall proficiency

ELA % proficient

56.4%(citywide avg: 49.3%)

ELA avg. rating

3.09 / 4.5(citywide avg: 2.91 / 4.5)

Math % proficient

56.6%(citywide avg: 53.1%)

Math avg. rating

3.02 / 4.5(citywide avg: 2.98 / 4.5)

By grade

Grade 3 ELA

50%

Grade 3 Math

57.8%

Grade 4 ELA

60.5%

Grade 4 Math

61.7%

Grade 5 ELA

59.3%

Grade 5 Math

51.1%

By student group

English Language Learners -- ELA

52.7%(citywide avg: 44.5%)

English Language Learners -- Math

55.4%(citywide avg: 51.7%)

Students with disabilities -- ELA

42.1%

Students with disabilities -- Math

44.3%

Asian students -- ELA

71.7%(citywide avg: 66.5%)

Asian students -- Math

87.2%(citywide avg: 79.7%)

Hispanic/Latino students -- ELA

52.2%(citywide avg: 45.3%)

Hispanic/Latino students -- Math

49.5%(citywide avg: 47%)

White students -- ELA

60%(citywide avg: 56.9%)

Small sample (15 students) -- treat as directional.

White students -- Math

60%(citywide avg: 59.7%)

Small sample (15 students) -- treat as directional.

"% 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

549 students enrolled

Economic Need Index: 89.64%

Race & ethnicity

Asian and Pacific Islander

13.66%

Black

0.55%

Hispanic or Latino

73.95%

White

10.93%

Multiracial

0.36%

Native American

0.55%

Missing race/ethnicity data

Other groups

Students with disabilities

33.52%

English Language Learners

58.11%

Living in poverty

95%

Female

47.91%

Male

52.09%

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.

Zoned

60 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 ~7% 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

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. Other students who live in the district.

~100% admitted

There were about 20 applicants in this group and all received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~33% 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. 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 (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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