Is Hillside Arts & Letters Academy a good school?

Hillside Arts & Letters Academy ranks 931 st of 1242 New York high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

How many students attend Hillside Arts & Letters Academy?

In the 2022-23 school year, 406 students attended Hillside Arts & Letters Academy.

What is the racial makeup of Hillside Arts & Letters Academy?

Students at Hillside Arts & Letters Academy are 37% Hispanic, 33% African American, 19% Asian, 4% American Indian, 3% Two or more races, 2% Pacific Islander, 2% White.

Hillside Arts & Letters Academy

Summary:

Hillside Arts & Letters Academy is a public high school serving grades 9-12 in Jamaica, New York, with 406 students and a student-teacher ratio of 14.4. The school is part of the New York City Geographic District #28, which is ranked 429 out of 865 districts in the state and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Hillside Arts & Letters Academy has consistently ranked in the bottom half of New York high schools over the past 10 years, with performance on Regents/Common Core exams generally below the district and state averages. However, the school performs better in English Language Arts, with 59.06% proficiency in 2023-2024 compared to 78.98% for the district and 78.55% for the state. The school's 4-year graduation rate has ranged from 84.3% to 90.6% over the past 3 years, slightly below the district and state averages, and its dropout rate has fluctuated between 0.9% and 10.0%, which is higher than the district and state averages. Notably, Hillside Arts & Letters Academy has a high chronic absenteeism rate, ranging from 34.1% to 46.6% over the past 3 years, significantly higher than the district and state averages.

Compared to nearby schools, such as Young Women's Leadership School-Queens, Queens Collegiate - A College Board School, and High School For Community Leadership, Hillside Arts & Letters Academy generally underperforms in academic metrics, graduation rates, and test scores. Additionally, the school's per-student spending, while increasing over the years, is still lower than some of the nearby high-performing schools, such as Queens Satellite High School For Opportunity. Addressing the high chronic absenteeism rate and other challenges could be an important focus area for the school and district to improve student outcomes and provide a more equitable educational experience.

Detail:

Public 9-12

167-01 Gothic Dr
Jamaica, NY 11432

(718) 658-1249

District: New York City Geographic District #28

SchoolDigger Rank:
931^st of 1,242 New York High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $16,720

Student/teacher ratio: 14.4

Number of students: 406

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

37.4%

African American:

32.5%

Asian:

19.2%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 67.5%

See top rated New York high schools

Compare Hillside Arts & Letters Academy to nearby high schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Hillside Arts & Letters Academy ranks worse than 75% of high schools in New York. It also ranks 12^th among 14 ranked high schools in the New York City Geographic District #28. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 23.74. (See more...)

The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at Hillside Arts & Letters Academy who earn a standard high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade.

The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Student population at Hillside Arts & Letters Academy is diverse. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (37.4%), African American (32.5%), Asian (19.2%). (See more...)

Compare Details 67.5% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Hillside Arts & Letters Academy is 14.4, which is the 6^th best among 14 high schools in the New York City Geographic District #28. (See more...)

Compare Hillside Arts & Letters Academy employs 28 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Hillside Arts & Letters Academy is $16,720, which is the 3^rd highest among 14 high schools in the New York City Geographic District #28.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Hillside Arts & Letters Academy:

SchoolDigger ranks Hillside Arts & Letters Academy 931^st of 1242 New York public high schools. (See Hillside Arts & Letters Academy in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Homeless students:

Female students:

Male students:

Asian students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

New York City Geographic District #28:

SchoolDigger ranks New York City Geographic District #28 429^th of 865 New York school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Hillside Arts & Letters Academy

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Rank History for all students at Hillside Arts & Letters Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2012	21.06	939^th	1198	21.6%
2013	26.07	871^st	1217	28.4%
2014	21.71	951^st	1237	23.1%
2015	34.80	837^th	1255	33.3%
2016	33.04	863^rd	1255	31.2%
2017	34.89	789^th	1221	35.4%
2018	33.23	813^th	1210	32.8%
2019	29.65	861^st	1207	28.7%
2022	31.13	808^th	1190	32.1%
2023	29.98	842^nd	1228	31.4%
2024	23.74	931^st	1242	25.0%

See the entire list of New York High School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Hillside Arts & Letters Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	51.11	227^th	546	58.4%
2019	53.99	208^th	565	63.2%
2022	48.71	206^th	481	57.2%
2023	39.14	359^th	583	38.4%
2024	40.90	364^th	637	42.9%

See the entire list of Best New York High Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Hillside Arts & Letters Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	58.28	376^th	1095	65.7%
2019	58.70	389^th	1132	65.6%
2022	26.61	782^nd	1038	24.7%
2023	42.37	590^th	1130	47.8%
2024	47.29	511^th	1144	55.3%

See the entire list of Best New York High Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Hillside Arts & Letters Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	37.98	745^th	1154	35.4%
2019	36.63	788^th	1179	33.2%
2022	36.21	715^th	1101	35.1%
2023	32.89	779^th	1155	32.6%
2024	27.17	870^th	1170	25.6%

See the entire list of Best New York High Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Homeless students at Hillside Arts & Letters Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	69.36	93^rd	498	81.3%
2019	46.24	245^th	493	50.3%
2022	56.07	113^th	389	71.0%
2023	49.60	222^nd	531	58.2%
2024	49.42	238^th	564	57.8%

See the entire list of Best New York High Schools for Homeless Students!

Rank History for Female students at Hillside Arts & Letters Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	33.88	812^th	1176	31.0%
2019	31.18	849^th	1193	28.8%
2022	26.21	841^st	1155	27.2%
2023	30.62	827^th	1197	30.9%
2024	27.04	897^th	1219	26.4%

See the entire list of Best New York High Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Hillside Arts & Letters Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	32.49	809^th	1176	31.2%
2019	27.91	872^nd	1190	26.7%
2022	35.78	735^th	1154	36.3%
2023	30.42	817^th	1191	31.4%
2024	22.81	922^nd	1211	23.9%

See the entire list of Best New York High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Hillside Arts & Letters Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	17.92	367^th	426	13.8%
2019	31.72	350^th	447	21.7%
2022	14.80	339^th	386	12.2%
2023	14.04	382^nd	424	9.9%
2024	14.91	378^th	426	11.3%

See the entire list of Best New York High Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at Hillside Arts & Letters Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	58.71	243^rd	679	64.2%
2019	51.41	305^th	686	55.5%
2022	60.43	188^th	593	68.3%
2023	50.54	276^th	671	58.9%
2024	45.71	343^rd	690	50.3%

See the entire list of Best New York High Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Hillside Arts & Letters Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	43.79	429^th	791	45.8%
2019	25.76	609^th	815	25.3%
2022	37.32	453^rd	760	40.4%
2023	28.90	587^th	851	31.0%
2024	23.62	683^rd	865	21.0%

See the entire list of Best New York High Schools for Hispanic Students!

Data source: test scores: NY State Education Department, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: NY State Education Department

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Enrollment information for Hillside Arts & Letters Academy

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Total
2011	4	45	26	15	3	0	0	93
2012	16	82	54	43	3	2	0	200
2013	14	133	85	78	7	5	7	329
2014	17	175	114	94	11	0	11	422
2015	12	175	125	113	19	0	14	458
2016	10	190	117	126	23	0	15	481
2017	10	201	105	123	19	14	11	483
2018	6	194	96	130	21	13	11	471
2019	11	185	76	131	21	12	10	446
2020	10	186	75	139	18	12	11	451
2021	13	188	69	136	16	11	12	445
2022	10	159	70	148	17	9	7	420
2023	7	132	78	152	16	8	13	406

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Hillside Arts & Letters Academy

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2011	93	7.0	13.2	74.2
2012	200	13.0	15.3	73.5
2013	329	19.0	17.3	76
2014	422	28.0	15.0	72.7
2015	458	28.0	16.3	75.5
2016	481	28.0	17.1	73.2
2017	483	28.8	16.7	74.7
2018	471	26.0	18.1	80.9
2019	446	32.0	13.9	72.6
2020	451	30.3	14.8	71
2021	445	32.7	13.5	74.2
2022	420	31.0	13.5	69.8
2023	406	28.0	14.4	67.5

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Hillside Arts & Letters Academy

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2011	93	7.0	13.2	74.2
2012	200	13.0	15.3	73.5
2013	329	19.0	17.3	76
2014	422	28.0	15.0	72.7
2015	458	28.0	16.3	75.5
2016	481	28.0	17.1	73.2
2017	483	28.8	16.7	74.7
2018	471	26.0	18.1	80.9
2019	446	32.0	13.9	72.6
2020	451	30.3	14.8	71
2021	445	32.7	13.5	74.2
2022	420	31.0	13.5	69.8
2023	406	28.0	14.4	67.5

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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