At a Glance
A tiny screened middle school with one of the richest program catalogs in the district — but academic results that have slipped sharply in 2025.
Best suited for
Families who want a small school with an unusually deep slate of programs, restorative practices, and strong parent-teacher relationships — and who are prepared to actively supplement academic support outside school given the recent slide in test scores.
Overall Rating
Rating = average of NY State ELA + math proficiency, grades 3–8
Bands are Motley's thresholds on a 0–100 scale, not New York State performance levels.
How this is scored→What stands out
- A program richness score of 100/100 — an extraordinary range of electives, clubs, and supports for a school of just 182 students.
- Parent trust scores in the mid- to high-90s across every dimension, including a 100% teacher instruction quality rating.
- Three subway lines within minutes of the front door — rare access for a Brooklyn middle school.
- A genuine comfort with diverse learners: 28% IEP enrollment, ELL Support, and restorative circles all on offer.
- Specialized High School Test Preparation is built into the program, signaling serious high-school placement ambition.
Things to consider
- Math proficiency at 16.9%, and just 8.7% for 8th graders, is a serious academic flag heading into high school.
- Chronic absenteeism at 72.5% means most students are missing significant school, which compounds academic concerns.
- The 5% suspension rate is several times the district average, even if absolute numbers are small.
- The enrolled student body's economic profile differs sharply from the affluent neighborhood surrounding it.
- Only 12 teachers responded to the climate survey, so teacher-side trust numbers should be read with some caution.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 13
Within District 13 — home to highly regarded peers like P.S. 011 (96/100) and The Emily Warren Roebling School (91/100) — I.S. 340's overall score of 1.17/4 places it well below district peers on academic outcomes, though its program catalog and parent satisfaction remain competitive with much stronger schools.
Academics
ELA proficiency at 41.5% sits roughly 12 points below the district average of 53%, and math at 16.9% is nearly 30 points below the district's 45.9%. The trajectory is the more striking story — math climbed steadily from 14.9% in 2016 to a peak of 47.8% in 2023, then collapsed to 16.9% in 2025; ELA followed a similar arc, peaking around 2022–23 before falling back. Eighth-grade math is especially weak at 8.7%, suggesting students are leaving middle school underprepared for algebra-intensive high school work. Science proficiency at 42.6% is the relative bright spot.
Culture
Day-to-day, this reads as a school where families feel heard — 97% trust teachers, 96% trust the principal, and 100% of surveyed teachers rate instruction quality positively. The 91.8% attendance rate beats the district average of 89.2%. But chronic absenteeism at 72.5% is very high, meaning most students are missing a significant chunk of school, and the 5% suspension rate is several times the district's 1.4%, though absolute numbers are small (7 total). Discipline has held flat at that level for two years, so it isn't escalating — but it isn't receding either.
Community
The student body is 93% Black and Hispanic, with 28% of students classified as IEP and an economic need index of 80 — meaning most enrolled families are experiencing significant economic pressure. That profile stands apart from the surrounding neighborhood, where the median household income is over $150,000 and only 6.4% of households live in poverty. The result is a school whose families don't reflect its ZIP code, which has implications for everything from PTA fundraising to peer networks outside school walls.
Neighborhood
Prospect Heights is a leafy, affluent pocket of central Brooklyn, with high home values, a 78.7% college-educated rate among adults, and a poverty rate under 7%. About 17% of neighborhood households include children. The school sits in the heart of this wealth, surrounded by brownstones and the edge of Prospect Park.
The school is unusually well-served by transit — Grand Army Plaza (2, 3) is about a 2-minute walk, 7 Av (B, Q) is about 3 minutes, and Bergen St (2, 3) is about 8 minutes away.
Academic Performance
ELA Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State ELA exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Math Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State Math exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Science Proficiency
Students scoring proficient or above on the NY State Science exam.
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Historical Trends
The dashed line marks 2023, when New York changed its grades 3–8 state tests. Scores before and after it aren’t directly comparable.
2020–2021 data unavailable due to COVID-19
Source: NYC DOE School Quality Reports
Survey Results
NYC School Survey (2025) · 64 families responded (47% rate)
Programs & Activities
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
Discipline
NYSED Student & Educator Database (2023-24)
Economic Need & Special Populations
How to get in, step by step
Middle school (6th grade)
Middle school is one citywide application, made in 5th grade. I.S. 340 admits through one program, and each one has its own admissions method:
- North Star AcademyScreened49 seats
Middle school application
- Opened
- Wed, Oct 14
- Closes
- Fri, Dec 11
- Offers
- Wed, Apr 7
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Apply on MySchools during the middle school application, in 5th grade.
- 2Screened programs rank 4th-grade course grades, so last year's report card is the one that counts.
- 3Rank programs in true preference order — the match places your child in the highest-ranked one that offers a seat.
Open houses and tours
We haven’t seen open-house dates for this school yet.
From the MySchools admissions calendar, checked weekly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is I.S. 340 a good school?
- On Motley, I.S. 340 earns an overall rating of 29/100 — the average of the school's New York State ELA and math proficiency, grades 3–8, shown out of 100. Its state test results run below the District 13 average.
- What grades does I.S. 340 serve?
- I.S. 340 serves grades 6 to 8.
- How do students get into I.S. 340?
- I.S. 340 is a screened school — it admits by application, ranking applicants on their course grades (4th grade for middle school, the 7th-grade core-course average for high school); a few schools add an assessment, writing sample, or interview.
- Is I.S. 340 public, charter, or private?
- I.S. 340 is a public school in NYC Community School District 13.
- What neighborhood is I.S. 340 in?
- I.S. 340 is in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.