At a Glance
A large, family-trusted elementary in Fresh Meadows where math has climbed steadily — though scores trail a high-performing district
Best suited for
Families who want a large, community-oriented zoned school with strong parent voice and steady math gains — and who don't mind being car-dependent in a quiet, residential Queens neighborhood.
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 has climbed more than 10 points since 2016 — the school's clearest academic trajectory.
- Zero suspensions over three consecutive years signals a genuinely peaceful school culture.
- 716 parent survey responses with 96% trust in teachers and principal reflect unusually deep family engagement.
- At 903 students, the school offers lots of peer groups and grade-level cohesion typical of large neighborhood schools.
Things to consider
- ELA proficiency at 68.5% trails the District 26 average of 75.8% — and District 26 is one of the city's highest-performing districts, so the gap matters.
- No subway within a 20-minute walk means most families are car- or bus-dependent.
- Teacher-rated instruction quality (84%) and safety (94%) both fall below district averages.
- PTA fundraising ($74 per student) is below the district average ($96), which may limit enrichment budgets.
- The reported chronic absenteeism figure (81.8%) is strikingly high and worth probing at any school tour.
Based on 2024-25 data
School SummaryDistrict 26
District 26 is consistently one of NYC's top-performing districts, and P.S. 173 sits in the middle of the pack — below the district average on overall score (2.96 vs. 3.12 out of 4) and below top peers like P.S. 98 and P.S. 94, but well ahead of struggling schools. It's a solid, not standout, performer in a strong district.
Academics
Math proficiency at 79.4% is just below the district average of 80.2%, while ELA at 68.5% sits further behind the district's 75.8%. The math story is the genuinely encouraging one — scores rose from 68.5% in 2016 to 79.4% in 2025, a steady upward climb. ELA has moved in a narrower band between roughly 65% and 71% across the same period, with last year's 68.5% near the long-run norm. Grade 3 students outperform older grades (73% ELA, 83% math), with grade 4 showing a dip (63% ELA) before grade 5 recovers somewhat.
Culture
The trust numbers here are exceptional: 96% of parents trust the principal, 96% trust teachers, and 97% report strong relationships — far above what most schools post. Teachers feel similarly about their principal (96%) and feel safe at work (94%), though teacher-rated instruction quality (84%) and safety (94%) both sit below district averages. Attendance is solid at 94.1%. Three straight years with zero suspensions suggests a calm, well-managed environment. The reported chronic absenteeism figure of 81.8% is unusually high and worth asking the school about directly to make sure it reflects what you're seeing on the ground.
Community
P.S. 173's student body is 61% Asian, 21% White, 14% Hispanic, and 1% Black — a mirror of Fresh Meadows' character as a middle-class, family-dense Queens neighborhood with strong Asian-American and white communities. Half of students qualify for economic need (50.5%), and 15% have IEPs, slightly below the citywide share. At 903 students with average class sizes of 25.5, the school has the feel of an established neighborhood institution.
Neighborhood
Fresh Meadows-Utopia is a solidly middle-class neighborhood — median household income around $96,000, only 8.9% of families in poverty, and nearly half of adults holding a bachelor's degree. About a quarter of households include children, fitting the school's K-5 zone. Home values near $1 million reflect the area's established, residential character, with single-family homes and quiet blocks typical of eastern Queens.
There are no subway stations within a 20-minute walk of the school, so most families will rely on school buses, driving, or local bus service.
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) · 716 families responded (76% 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. 173 Fresh Meadows 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. 173 Fresh Meadows 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. 173 Fresh Meadows a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 173 Fresh Meadows earns an overall rating of 74/100 — 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 in line with the District 26 average.
- What grades does P.S. 173 Fresh Meadows serve?
- P.S. 173 Fresh Meadows serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 173 Fresh Meadows?
- P.S. 173 Fresh Meadows admits by zone — children who live in its attendance zone get a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 173 Fresh Meadows public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 173 Fresh Meadows is a public school in NYC Community School District 26.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 173 Fresh Meadows in?
- P.S. 173 Fresh Meadows is in Fresh Meadows-Utopia, Queens.