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Ps 42 Benjamin Altman

Public Grades PK, KG-5
298th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 2,445 New York Elementary Schools
Better than 88% of New York elementary schools
Summary

Ps 42 Benjamin Altman is an elementary school in New York City, serving 457 students in grades PK-5 and part of the New York City Geographic District #2.

Ps 42 Benjamin Altman consistently performs well on state assessments, with a high percentage of students proficient or better in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math across grades 3-5. In the 2024-2025 school year, the school's ELA proficiency rates ranged from 73.77% to 75.61%, and Math proficiency rates ranged from 75.81% to 92.98% - significantly higher than the New York state averages. The school also ranks highly for English Language Learner (ELL) students and students with low socioeconomic status, placing in the top 15-20% of New York elementary schools.

Ps 42 Benjamin Altman outperforms many nearby schools, such as Ps 2 Meyer London and Ps 124 Yung Wing, in academic achievement. The school has a relatively high per-student spending of around $40,000 and maintains a low student-teacher ratio of around 10-11 students per teacher, which may contribute to its strong performance. Additionally, Ps 42 Benjamin Altman has a strong track record of supporting its homeless student population, ranking in the top 10-15% of New York elementary schools for this subgroup in recent years.

476
Students ?
10.5
Student/teacher ratio ?
$39,811
Per pupil spending ?
66.8%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 71 Hester St
       New York, NY  10002-5499

(212) 226-8410

District: New York City Geographic District # 2

Racial breakdown:

Asian:
66.0%
Hispanic:
16.2%
White:
9.9%
more
 See top rated New York elementary schools

 Compare Ps 42 Benjamin Altman to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Holding steady — 89th percentile in 2015 → 88th in 2025
Strengths
Test scores above the New York average (78% vs 55% meeting standards)
Ranks in the top 12% of New York elementary schools
Small classes — about 10 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school78%
District avg78%
New York avg55%
298th of 2,445
New York public elementary schools ?
Top 12%▼ down 2 pts since 2015
See the entire ranking list of New York Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
21st of 35Elementary Schools in the New York City Geographic District # 2
352nd of 874New York City Geographic District # 2 among New York districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202585.2298 of 244587.8%★★★★☆
202484.9316 of 244587.1%★★★★☆
202393.1146 of 243994.0%★★★★★
202291.7148 of 243493.9%★★★★★
202170.1603 of 220172.6%★★★★☆
201979.0441 of 241381.7%★★★★☆
201878.4431 of 239582.0%★★★★☆
201785.6258 of 238689.2%★★★★☆
201687.3207 of 236691.3%★★★★★
201585.6251 of 235289.3%★★★★☆
201487.4194 of 234591.7%★★★★★
201381.7346 of 232585.1%★★★★☆
201279.0418 of 232082.0%★★★★☆
201181.5331 of 228685.5%★★★★☆
201076.4472 of 226379.1%★★★★☆
200974.4537 of 225776.2%★★★★☆
200871.6662 of 222770.3%★★★★☆
200770.9707 of 221968.1%★★★☆☆
200676.3467 of 220678.8%★★★★☆

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202561.9299 of 69657.0%★★★☆☆
202461.2270 of 66259.2%★★★☆☆
202370.1181 of 60570.1%★★★★☆
202270.1202 of 67169.9%★★★★☆
201946.1359 of 54834.5%★★☆☆☆
201851.0350 of 60141.8%★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202569.5181 of 111783.8%★★★★☆
202476.8114 of 106689.3%★★★★☆
202387.951 of 100194.9%★★★★★
202294.037 of 102796.4%★★★★★
202163.3116 of 45474.4%★★★★☆
201978.469 of 86092.0%★★★★★
201858.1265 of 93871.7%★★★★☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202580.5377 of 240984.4%★★★★☆
202484.9293 of 241387.9%★★★★☆
202391.6165 of 240393.1%★★★★★
202292.6105 of 240195.6%★★★★★
202172.8444 of 195577.3%★★★★☆
201975.4501 of 235778.7%★★★★☆
201873.6529 of 233877.4%★★★★☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202559.8539 of 156965.6%★★★☆☆

Homeless

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202481.583 of 76689.2%★★★★☆
201877.1105 of 73085.6%★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202588.5164 of 209892.2%★★★★★
202487.3163 of 207892.2%★★★★★
202396.950 of 204197.6%★★★★★
202295.753 of 209997.5%★★★★★
202183.4159 of 167890.5%★★★★★
201989.0165 of 203291.9%★★★★★
201884.9182 of 204591.1%★★★★★

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202586.2254 of 240789.4%★★★★☆
202481.6362 of 241185.0%★★★★☆
202390.3184 of 240092.3%★★★★★
202288.4196 of 240091.8%★★★★★
202162.0707 of 196163.9%★★★☆☆
201980.8383 of 235883.8%★★★★☆
201880.8341 of 234085.4%★★★★☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202579.6257 of 213488.0%★★★★☆
202478.6269 of 211087.3%★★★★☆
202388.6128 of 201693.7%★★★★★
202277.9239 of 203188.2%★★★★☆
202161.6292 of 104472.0%★★★★☆
201966.6337 of 185981.9%★★★★☆
201853.9656 of 194166.2%★★★☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew York percentileRating
202488.2105 of 139292.5%★★★★★
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
White (2024)92nd percentile+5 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)92nd percentile+4 vs school
Male (2025)89th percentile~ school
Homeless (2024)89th percentile~ school
Special Education (2025)88th percentile~ school
Female (2025)84th percentile-3 vs school
English Language Learner (2025)84th percentile-4 vs school
Hispanic (2025)66th percentile-22 vs school
Asian (2025)57th percentile-31 vs school
By subject vs New York (2024-2025) ?
Math83%+25 vs state
English Language Arts75%+20 vs state
Science68%+23 vs state

5.0
2 ratings · 2 written reviews
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What people are saying
by a student
Tuesday, December 15, 2020

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by a student
Sunday, July 9, 2017

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Frequently Asked Questions about Ps 42 Benjamin Altman

Ps 42 Benjamin Altman ranks 298th of 2445 New York elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Students at Ps 42 Benjamin Altman are 66% Asian, 16% Hispanic, 10% White, 4% African American, 4% Two or more races.

In the 2024-25 school year, 476 students attended Ps 42 Benjamin Altman.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau, the WNYC and the New York State Department of Health and the NY State Education Department.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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