At a Glance
A zoned Sunset Park elementary where nearly every child meets state standards — and parents almost universally trust what's happening inside.
Best suited for
Families zoned for the school who want consistently strong academics, a trusting relationship with the principal, and a genuinely diverse, working-class community — and who can prioritize getting their child to school every day.
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 near-perfect across every grade and every year on record, including 100% in grades 3 and 4
- Parent-principal trust at 99% with zero suspensions for three straight years
- A zoned school that outperforms most of its district's screened and charter peers on state tests
- IEP enrollment at 28%, meaningfully above the city norm
- An 88% family survey response rate signaling unusually high parent engagement for a large elementary school
Things to consider
- Chronic absenteeism at 76.7% is the one metric that doesn't fit the otherwise excellent picture — worth asking the school how they're addressing it and whether it's concentrated in certain grades
- PTA per-student fundraising ($157) is well below the district average, which can limit enrichment programming, field trips, and classroom extras
- With 28% of students on IEPs and an average class size of 25, ask how special education services are staffed and supported
- Admissions are strictly zoned — your address determines eligibility, with no opt-in pathway
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 15
District 15 spans brownstone Brooklyn down to Sunset Park and includes both celebrated schools like P.S. 321 and a wide range of peers. P.S. 172 sits among the top performers in the district, comparable in scores to Success Academy Cobble Hill and ahead of most non-charter zoned options.
Academics
Both ELA (93.3%) and math (97.4%) sit roughly 30 percentage points above district averages of 65.5% and 63.3%. Trends have been remarkably stable at this high level for nearly a decade — math has stayed above 94% every year on record, and ELA has hovered in the high 80s to high 90s. Grade 3 and 4 hit near-perfect math proficiency (100%), with a slight dip at grade 5 (91.4% ELA, 91.7% math), which is a typical pattern as testing stakes rise.
Culture
The survey numbers are striking: 99% parent-principal trust, 100% strong family-school relationships, 100% teacher-principal trust, and 98% teacher-reported safety, with zero suspensions for three straight years. But chronic absenteeism sits at 76.7% — meaning roughly three out of four students miss 10% or more of the school year. The daily attendance rate (93.3%) actually matches the district average, so the high chronic-absence figure likely reflects long-tail absences concentrated in a subset of families. The families who are engaged seem deeply satisfied.
Community
Two-thirds of students are Hispanic, with a sizable White minority (16%) and a growing Asian population (10%). The school mirrors Sunset Park's working-class, immigrant-rooted character — the 63.8 economic need index puts most students near or below the poverty line. It also serves a notably higher share of students with IEPs (28%) than citywide norms. PTA fundraising of $157 per student is well below the district's $491 average, a gap that usually tracks family income rather than engagement — and the 88% family survey response rate suggests parents are involved even when the checkbook is thinner.
Neighborhood
Sunset Park's western edge is a dense, working-class, mostly renter neighborhood where about one in five households has kids and just over a third of adults hold a bachelor's degree. Median household income sits around $81,000 and homeownership is low, though the area's market values have climbed past $1 million as the neighborhood changes around it. The school draws families who reflect that mix — immigrant-rooted, multigenerational, and tightly knit.
The 25 St (R) and 36 St (D, N, R) stations are each about a 5-minute walk; the Prospect Av (R) stop is roughly 14 minutes on foot.
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) · 322 families responded (88% 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. 172 Beacon School of Excellence 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. 172 Beacon School of Excellence 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. 172 Beacon School of Excellence a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 172 Beacon School of Excellence earns an overall rating of 95/100 — 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 15 average.
- What grades does P.S. 172 Beacon School of Excellence serve?
- P.S. 172 Beacon School of Excellence serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 172 Beacon School of Excellence?
- P.S. 172 Beacon School of Excellence admits by zone — children who live in its attendance zone get a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 172 Beacon School of Excellence public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 172 Beacon School of Excellence is a public school in NYC Community School District 15.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 172 Beacon School of Excellence in?
- P.S. 172 Beacon School of Excellence is in Sunset Park (West), Brooklyn.