At a Glance
A large, screened Upper East Side middle school where math scores climb with each grade and the extracurricular catalog runs unusually deep
Best suited for
Families looking for a selective, academically strong middle school with a deep extracurricular menu, ideally on the East Side or willing to commute there, whose children do well in larger, program-rich environments.
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
- Screened, selective admissions — academic bar matters for entry
- Math proficiency actually rises each year, from 76% in sixth grade to 88% in eighth
- Program richness score of 100/100, with band, drama, debate, chess, journalism, and more on offer
- Discipline is exceptionally light — five suspensions total across the whole school
- ELA and math scores have held in the high-70s to low-80s for nearly a decade
Things to consider
- Teacher-reported instruction quality (83%) runs notably below the District 2 average of 90% — worth probing on a tour
- Parent satisfaction is solid at 89% but slightly below the district average of 92%
- Chronic absenteeism is high overall, though the pattern is driven largely by more affluent families rather than disengagement
- At 1,150 students, this is a large middle school — some kids find that energizing, others prefer something smaller
- PTA fundraising of $260 per student trails the district average of $517, which can shape what enrichment gets funded
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 2
District 2 is home to some of the strongest middle schools in the city, and J.H.S. 167 sits comfortably in the upper tier — outscoring the district average on both ELA and math, though a step behind the very top performers like Lower Lab and Manhattan New School.
Academics
Proficiency rates of 79.1% in ELA and 82.6% in math run about 6 and 10 points above District 2 averages, respectively — a meaningful edge. The trajectory has been steadily upward since 2016, when ELA proficiency was 66% and math 70%; by 2018 the school had crossed into the high-70s now, and it has stayed there. Notably, math scores climb by grade — 76% in sixth grade, 85% in seventh, 88% in eighth — suggesting students arrive ready and leave stronger.
Culture
Day-to-day, this is a calm school: just five suspensions last year, against a district average that hovers around 0.3%. Parent trust in teachers and the principal both register at 93%, a strong signal that families feel heard. The chronic absenteeism figure of 79.4% looks alarming on paper, but the breakdown is unusual — rates are highest among White, Asian, and multiracial students (often tied to family travel) and lowest among Black and Hispanic students. The one soft spot is teacher-reported instruction quality at 83%, which sits about 7 points below the district average and is worth asking the school about directly.
Community
The student body is majority White (51%) and notably Asian (20%), with Hispanic (16%) and Black (7%) students making up smaller shares — a more mixed picture than the surrounding census tract suggests, where income and education levels are extremely high. The economic need index of 26.5 is on the lower side, meaning fewer students arrive in deep poverty than at the average city school. IEP enrollment at 16% is close to typical, and the school offers ELL support for incoming English learners.
Neighborhood
The school sits in the Lenox Hill stretch of the Upper East Side, a neighborhood where the median household income is roughly $139,000 and 80% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. About one in five households include children, and homeownership is low — most families rent. Poverty is rare here at 8%, and the blocks are well-served by transit and sidewalks.
Three subway options within an easy walk: the 6 train at 77 Street (about 4 minutes), the Q at 72 Street (about 4 minutes), and the 6 at 68 Street-Hunter College (about 8 minutes).
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) · 275 families responded (30% rate)
Programs & Activities
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
NYC DOE InfoHub · 2022-23
PTA Fundraising
Source: DOE Local Law 171 disclosure
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. J.H.S. 167 Robert F. Wagner admits through 2 programs, and each one has its own admissions method:
- Academic (Zoned Program)Screened104 seats
- Special ProgressScreened245 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 J.H.S. 167 Robert F. Wagner a good school?
- On Motley, J.H.S. 167 Robert F. Wagner earns an overall rating of 81/100 — 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 above the District 2 average.
- What grades does J.H.S. 167 Robert F. Wagner serve?
- J.H.S. 167 Robert F. Wagner serves grades 6 to 8.
- How do students get into J.H.S. 167 Robert F. Wagner?
- J.H.S. 167 Robert F. Wagner 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 J.H.S. 167 Robert F. Wagner public, charter, or private?
- J.H.S. 167 Robert F. Wagner is a public school in NYC Community School District 2.
- What neighborhood is J.H.S. 167 Robert F. Wagner in?
- J.H.S. 167 Robert F. Wagner is in Upper East Side-Lenox Hill-Roosevelt Island, Manhattan.