I.S. 281 Joseph B Cavallaro

8787 24 AVENUE, BROOKLYN, NY 11214 · Brooklyn · Junior High-Intermediate-Middle

DBN: 21K281

Junior High-Intermediate-Middle

Zoned: Middle

SchoolDigger: 385 (of 1500)

Niche: B+ · 336 (of 1507)

Fed by these elementary schools

P.S. 163 Bath Beach P.S. 101 The Verrazano P.S. 247 Brooklyn P.S. 90 Edna Cohen School P.S. 100 The Coney Island School P.S. 095 The Gravesend P.S. 97 The Highlawn P.S. 204 Vince Lombardi P.S. 748 Brooklyn School for Global Scholars P.S. 216 Arturo Toscanini P.S. 186 Dr. Irving A Gladstone P.S. 200 Benson School P.S. 212 Lady Deborah Moody P.S. 128 Bensonhurst P.S. 188 Michael E. Berdy P.S. 329 Surfside P.S. 288 The Shirley Tanyhill

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: 92.6%

74.2% attend 90%+ of days

Subject

Student group

Overall proficiency

ELA % proficient

54.7%(citywide avg: 56.6%)

ELA avg. rating

3.05 / 4.5(citywide avg: 3.08 / 4.5)

Math % proficient

65.2%(citywide avg: 60.5%)

Math avg. rating

3.26 / 4.5(citywide avg: 3.19 / 4.5)

Science % proficient (Grade 8 only)

53.7%

Science avg. rating (Grade 8 only)

3.00 / 4.5

By grade

Grade 6 ELA

54%

Grade 6 Math

55.3%

Grade 7 ELA

58%

Grade 7 Math

70.3%

Grade 8 ELA

52.1%

Grade 8 Math

68.7%

By student group

English Language Learners -- ELA

31%(citywide avg: 32.9%)

English Language Learners -- Math

56.1%(citywide avg: 50.5%)

Students with disabilities -- ELA

31.3%

Students with disabilities -- Math

37.1%

Asian students -- ELA

66.2%(citywide avg: 64.7%)

Asian students -- Math

80.3%(citywide avg: 75.4%)

Black students -- ELA

46.2%(citywide avg: 48.1%)

Black students -- Math

39.4%(citywide avg: 35.6%)

Hispanic/Latino students -- ELA

37.8%(citywide avg: 43.1%)

Hispanic/Latino students -- Math

41%(citywide avg: 39.2%)

White students -- ELA

57.5%(citywide avg: 56.4%)

White students -- Math

72.9%(citywide avg: 64.3%)

"% 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

1105 students enrolled

Economic Need Index: 79.44%

Race & ethnicity

Asian and Pacific Islander

39.55%

Black

5.79%

Hispanic or Latino

25.88%

White

26.7%

Multiracial

1.45%

Native American

0.63%

Missing race/ethnicity data

Other groups

Students with disabilities

20.45%

English Language Learners

23.44%

Living in poverty

83.71%

Female

46.06%

Male

53.94%

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.

Audition

19 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 students and residents of District 21

~100% admitted

There were about 10 applicants in this group and all received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~53% 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 New York City residents

~100% admitted

There were fewer than 10 applicants in this group and all received offers last year.This group's offers alone accounted for ~47% 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) →

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