At a Glance
A large Flushing-area elementary where math scores outpace the district and parent trust runs near the ceiling.
Best suited for
Families zoned for the school who want strong math outcomes, a high-trust relationship with teachers and administration, and a tight-knit community that reflects Flushing's Asian-American population — especially households who can drive or rely on school-bus service, since subway access is essentially nonexistent.
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
- Math proficiency at 86.4% — nearly 17 points above the district average
- Grade 3 math proficiency at 94.4%
- Parent trust scores near 100% across relationships, teachers, and principal
- Zero suspensions in the most recent reporting year
- Overall quality score of 3.09/4 against a district average of 2.69/4
Things to consider
- Average class size of 24.7 students — right at the district norm, not a place for small-group intimacy
- Demographics are concentrated rather than mixed, which is a feature for some families and a limitation for others
- No subway access within a 20-minute walk — daily commuting without a car or bus service is impractical
- PTA fundraising runs at about $24 per student, well below the district average of roughly $50
- Teacher survey responses were limited (17 teachers), so some staff-perspective numbers should be read with a grain of salt
- Chronic absenteeism figures in the source data are unusually elevated and worth confirming directly with the school
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 25
P.S. 163 sits in the upper tier of District 25 elementary schools, alongside options like The Active Learning Elementary School, P.S. 079 Francis Lewis, and P.S. 209 Clearview Gardens. With an overall score of 3.09/4 against a district average of 2.69/4, it ranks as a clear outperformer in a district that ranges from strong to struggling.
Academics
Math is the headline here: 86.4% proficiency against a district average of 69.6%, and Grade 3 math hitting 94.4%. ELA at 67.9% sits a few points above the district average of 64.9% and has been climbing — from 58.6% in 2016 to 67.9% in 2025, with the jump in the most recent year especially notable. The overall quality score of 3.09/4 places P.S. 163 well above the district's 2.69 average, indicating consistent outperformance across the DOE's broader measures.
Culture
Discipline isn't a concern: zero suspensions in the most recent reporting year, with the trend moving from 1 to 1 to 0 over three years. Daily attendance runs at 96.2%, comfortably above the district's 94% average. The standout story is the survey data — 100% of families report strong relationships with school staff, 99% trust their child's teacher, and 98% trust the principal, putting P.S. 163 well ahead of district norms on parent satisfaction (97% vs. 93.7%). Teachers rate instructional quality at 97% (vs. 89.6% district) and report feeling safe at 100% (vs. 97% district). Teacher-principal trust at 88% is the one metric that lands a touch lower, and the teacher survey was answered by only 17 educators, so that number carries less weight than the parent numbers, which drew 314 responses.
Community
P.S. 163 draws overwhelmingly from Flushing's Asian-American community — 81% of students identify as Asian, with another 14% Hispanic and the remainder spread across Black, white, and multiracial students. The school closely mirrors the surrounding neighborhood rather than mixing families from across the borough. About 12% of students have IEPs and the economic need index of 67.6 indicates a meaningfully working- and middle-class population.
Neighborhood
Queensboro Hill is a residential pocket of central Queens where about 23% of households include children and just over half of residents own their homes, with a median home value near $946,000. Median household income of $71,035 and a 13.3% poverty rate put the neighborhood in a stable middle-class range, and 29% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. The area is family-dense and rooted in the broader Flushing community.
There are no subway stations within a 20-minute walk, so most families will arrive by car, school bus, or on foot from nearby blocks.
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
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) · 314 families responded (44% rate)
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
Pre-K
P.S. 163 Flushing Heights also has Pre-K classes. They're a separate application from kindergarten, made on MySchools.
Pre-K application
Applications typically open in the winter and close in the spring, with offers in late spring; the city announces exact dates each year.
Kindergarten
P.S. 163 Flushing Heights has an attendance zone. At elementary level, in-zone students get a guaranteed seat. Every family still applies on MySchools: the application confirms the zoned seat, and ranking other schools doesn't cost you it.
Kindergarten application
- Opens
- Wed, Dec 9
- Closes
- Fri, Jan 22
- Offers
- Tue, Mar 30
The DOE’s published dates.
- 1Check that your address is inside the zone — zones change, so confirm it before you sign a lease.
- 2Apply during the kindergarten application, even with a zoned seat.
- 3Rank this school along with any others you'd take, in true preference order.
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 P.S. 163 Flushing Heights a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 163 Flushing Heights earns an overall rating of 77/100 — 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 25 average.
- What grades does P.S. 163 Flushing Heights serve?
- P.S. 163 Flushing Heights serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 163 Flushing Heights?
- P.S. 163 Flushing Heights admits by zone — children who live in its attendance zone get a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 163 Flushing Heights public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 163 Flushing Heights is a public school in NYC Community School District 25.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 163 Flushing Heights in?
- P.S. 163 Flushing Heights is in Queensboro Hill, Queens.