At a Glance
A Queens zoned elementary where families feel heard, but test scores trail a famously high-flying district
Best suited for
Families zoned for the school who value a warm, low-discipline environment and strong family-school trust, and who can supplement academic support outside the classroom.
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
- Zero suspensions for three consecutive years — a striking record of restorative or low-discipline culture
- Parent-principal trust at 98% and parent satisfaction at 96%, well above district norms despite lower test scores
- Strong Grade 3 performance (91.8% math proficiency) showing what younger students can achieve here
- Asian-majority student body (57%) creating a distinct cultural community uncommon elsewhere in the city
- Teacher collegial trust at 100% — staff relationships are unusually tight
Things to consider
- ELA and math proficiency both trail District 26 averages by roughly 10 points — this is not a leading academic school in a leading academic district
- Chronic absenteeism at 80.9% is high even by city standards and may affect how much learning sticks day-to-day
- Scores decline meaningfully between Grade 3 and Grades 4–5, which parents of older students should ask about
- No subway access — car or bus commuting is unavoidable for most families
- PTA fundraising ($64/student) runs below the district average of $96, which can limit enrichment programming
Based on 2023-24 data
School SummaryDistrict 26
District 26 is one of New York City's highest-performing elementary districts, and P.S. 213 sits in the middle-to-lower portion of it — peers like P.S. 98 and P.S. 94 score 94/100, putting this school roughly 8–10 points behind the district's leaders.
Academics
At 65.6% ELA proficiency and 71.4% math proficiency, P.S. 213 sits about 10 percentage points below the District 26 average on ELA (75.8%) and nearly 9 points below on math (80.2%). The overall score of 2.74/4 reinforces that gap — District 26 peers like P.S. 98 and P.S. 94 score 94/100, putting this school clearly in the middle-to-lower tier of its district. One bright spot: Grade 3 results are strong (80.9% ELA, 91.8% math), but scores drop noticeably by Grades 4 and 5, suggesting something shifts as students age up. ELA has bounced between 58% and 70% over the past decade with no clear upward trajectory.
Culture
Day-to-day, this school feels remarkably cohesive: 100% of teachers trust the principal, 99% of parents trust their child's teacher, and teacher-reported safety sits at 96%. Parent satisfaction at 96% runs well above the district average of 92%, and there have been zero suspensions for three straight years — an unusual record even in a calm district. The one serious flag is chronic absenteeism at 80.9%, meaning more than four out of five students missed at least 10% of the school year; attendance rate (93.5%) is fine, but extended absences are widespread enough to affect classroom continuity.
Community
The student body is 57% Asian, 21% Hispanic, 12% White, and 8% Black — a different mix than the neighborhood's own racial makeup, which is more White and less Asian-heavy than the school itself. With an economic need index of 48.5 (out of 100, where higher means more need), the school draws a more economically mixed population than the surrounding blocks, where median household income tops $104K and the poverty rate is just 5.8%. The diversity index of 66% reflects genuine mixing rather than a homogeneous population.
Neighborhood
Oakland Gardens-Hollis Hills is a quiet, owner-occupied Queens neighborhood where more than 70% of households own their homes and the median home value approaches $600K. About a quarter of households include children, and over half of residents hold a bachelor's degree — a well-educated, family-oriented community built around single-family houses rather than apartment towers. The neighborhood trades walkable transit for space and stability.
There are no subway stations within a 20-minute walk of the school — families rely on cars, school buses, or local bus service to get here.
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) · 210 families responded (58% 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. 213 The Carl Ullman School 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. 213 The Carl Ullman School 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. 213 The Carl Ullman School a good school?
- On Motley, P.S. 213 The Carl Ullman School earns an overall rating of 69/100 — 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 26 average.
- What grades does P.S. 213 The Carl Ullman School serve?
- P.S. 213 The Carl Ullman School serves grades Pre-K to 5.
- How do students get into P.S. 213 The Carl Ullman School?
- P.S. 213 The Carl Ullman School admits by zone — children who live in its attendance zone get a guaranteed seat.
- Is P.S. 213 The Carl Ullman School public, charter, or private?
- P.S. 213 The Carl Ullman School is a public school in NYC Community School District 26.
- What neighborhood is P.S. 213 The Carl Ullman School in?
- P.S. 213 The Carl Ullman School is in Oakland Gardens-Hollis Hills, Queens.