Is Hillcrest High School a good school?

Hillcrest High School ranks in the bottom 22.1% of New York high schools.

How many students attend Hillcrest High School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 2,333 students attended Hillcrest High School.

What is the racial makeup of Hillcrest High School?

Students at Hillcrest High School are 39% Hispanic, 26% Asian, 25% African American, 5% American Indian, 2% White, 1% Pacific Islander.

What schools feed into Hillcrest High School?

Hillcrest High School is fed by the following schools: Elementary : Ps 117 J Keld/Briarwood School Elementary : Ps 182 Samantha Smith Elementary : Ps 50 Talfourd Lawn Elementary School Elementary : Ps 55 Maure Elementary : Ps 82 Hammond Elementary : Ps 86 Elementary : Ps 99 Kew Gardens Middle : Junior High School 217 Robert A Van Wyck

Hillcrest High School

Summary:

Hillcrest High School is a public high school located in Jamaica, New York, serving grades 9-12 with a total enrollment of 2,381 students. The school is part of the New York City Geographic District #28, which is ranked 429 out of 865 districts in New York and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Hillcrest High School faces significant challenges in academic performance, graduation and dropout rates, and student engagement. The school has consistently ranked in the bottom half of New York high schools, with low proficiency rates on Regents/Common Core exams compared to the district and state averages. Its four-year graduation rate has ranged from 81.2% to 86.5%, which is lower than the district and state averages, and its dropout rate has been higher, ranging from 3.4% to 11.3% in recent years. Additionally, Hillcrest High School has a significantly higher chronic absenteeism rate, ranging from 34.1% to 43.2%, compared to the district and state.

In contrast, nearby schools like Queens High School For The Sciences at York College and High School for Community Leadership significantly outperform Hillcrest High School on academic measures, with much higher proficiency rates on Regents/Common Core exams and higher statewide rankings. These schools serve a smaller student population, which may contribute to their stronger academic performance. The socioeconomic factors of Hillcrest High School, with 81.94% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, may also be a contributing factor to the school's challenges, and the allocation of resources may not be effectively addressing the underlying issues.

Detail:

Public 9-12

160-05 Highland Ave
Jamaica, NY 11432

(718) 658-5407

District: New York City Geographic District #28

SchoolDigger Rank:
967^th of 1,242 New York High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $15,008

Feeder schools for Hillcrest High School:

Elementary:	Ps 117 J Keld/Briarwood School
	Ps 182 Samantha Smith
	Ps 50 Talfourd Lawn Elementary School
	Ps 55 Maure
	More...
	Ps 82 Hammond
	Ps 86
	Ps 99 Kew Gardens
Middle:	Junior High School 217 Robert A Van Wyck

Student/teacher ratio: 15.0

Number of students: 2,333

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

39.4%

Asian:

25.8%

African American:

25.5%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 82.7%

See top rated New York high schools

Compare Hillcrest High School to nearby high schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Hillcrest High School ranks worse than 77.9% of high schools in New York. It also ranks 13^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 20.79. (See more...)

The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at Hillcrest High School 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 Hillcrest High School is diverse. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (39.4%), Asian (25.8%), African American (25.5%). (See more...)

Compare Details 82.7% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Hillcrest High School is 15. 8 high schools in the New York City Geographic District #28 have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Hillcrest High School employs 154.7 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Hillcrest High School is $15,008, which is the 6^th highest among 14 high schools in the New York City Geographic District #28.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Hillcrest High School:

SchoolDigger ranks Hillcrest High School 967^th of 1242 New York public high schools. (See Hillcrest High School 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:

Native American students:

White 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 Hillcrest High School

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Rank History for all students at Hillcrest High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2005	26.34	751^st	935	19.7%
2006	21.24	805^th	986	18.4%
2007	19.38	842^nd	1002	16.0%
2008	18.46	872^nd	1027	15.1%
2009	12.80	985^th	1086	9.3%
2010	16.96	961^st	1117	14.0%
2011	26.90	872^nd	1165	25.2%
2012	25.63	875^th	1198	27.0%
2013	26.43	870^th	1217	28.5%
2014	28.57	867^th	1237	29.9%
2015	27.59	916^th	1255	27.0%
2016	35.05	834^th	1255	33.5%
2017	32.83	804^th	1221	34.2%
2018	41.30	755^th	1210	37.6%
2019	40.04	778^th	1207	35.5%
2022	20.98	909^th	1190	23.6%
2023	20.89	935^th	1228	23.9%
2024	20.79	967^th	1242	22.1%

See the entire list of New York High School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Hillcrest High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	19.00	198^th	212	6.6%
2023	28.48	213^th	272	21.7%

See the entire list of Best New York High Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Hillcrest High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	66.73	131^st	546	76.0%
2019	62.17	153^rd	565	72.9%
2022	40.68	273^rd	481	43.2%
2023	32.05	430^th	583	26.2%
2024	36.00	422^nd	637	33.8%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Hillcrest High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	51.25	487^th	1095	55.5%
2019	46.09	575^th	1132	49.2%
2022	38.24	601^st	1038	42.1%
2023	33.54	746^th	1130	34.0%
2024	38.93	654^th	1144	42.8%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Hillcrest High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	46.47	644^th	1154	44.2%
2019	44.48	679^th	1179	42.4%
2022	23.68	844^th	1101	23.3%
2023	24.83	869^th	1155	24.8%
2024	24.22	903^rd	1170	22.8%

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

Rank History for Homeless students at Hillcrest High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	61.93	144^th	498	71.1%
2019	67.59	109^th	493	77.9%
2022	37.87	233^rd	389	40.1%
2023	31.66	387^th	531	27.1%
2024	28.14	445^th	564	21.1%

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

Rank History for Female students at Hillcrest High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	42.54	738^th	1176	37.2%
2019	40.98	762^nd	1193	36.1%
2022	20.90	890^th	1155	22.9%
2023	26.18	871^st	1197	27.2%
2024	24.31	931^st	1219	23.6%

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

Rank History for Male students at Hillcrest High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	39.26	745^th	1176	36.6%
2019	38.08	772^nd	1190	35.1%
2022	20.16	899^th	1154	22.1%
2023	18.71	942^nd	1191	20.9%
2024	17.56	1005^th	1211	17.0%

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

Rank History for Asian students at Hillcrest High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	29.72	319^th	426	25.1%
2019	30.25	356^th	447	20.4%
2022	9.09	355^th	386	8.0%
2023	11.30	389^th	424	8.3%
2024	21.74	357^th	426	16.2%

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

Rank History for African American students at Hillcrest High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	63.92	199^th	679	70.7%
2019	58.69	240^th	686	65.0%
2022	42.99	311^th	593	47.6%
2023	39.51	377^th	671	43.8%
2024	44.59	352^nd	690	49.0%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Hillcrest High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	49.20	380^th	791	52.0%
2019	45.01	422^nd	815	48.2%
2022	23.88	579^th	760	23.8%
2023	20.64	691^st	851	18.8%
2024	14.66	785^th	865	9.2%

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

Rank History for Native American students at Hillcrest High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	52.32	23^rd	43	46.5%
2019	50.91	23^rd	46	50.0%
2022	41.42	19^th	28	32.1%
2023	37.46	28^th	41	31.7%
2024	38.30	31^st	41	24.4%

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

Rank History for White students at Hillcrest High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	NY State Percentile
2018	32.88	593^rd	765	22.5%
2022	3.99	719^th	738	2.6%
2023	2.51	755^th	776	2.7%
2024	8.00	743^rd	781	4.9%

See the entire list of Best New York High Schools for White 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 Hillcrest High School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1989	685	1637	447	779	0	n/a	n/a	0	3548
1990	502	1880	452	616	0	n/a	n/a	0	3450
1991	353	1748	446	735	0	n/a	n/a	0	3282
1992	358	1552	528	832	45	n/a	n/a	0	3315
1993	357	1601	495	791	10	n/a	n/a	0	3254
1994	323	1713	523	821	15	n/a	n/a	0	3395
1995	242	2071	750	917	19	n/a	n/a	0	3999
1996	242	2071	750	917	19	n/a	n/a	0	3999
1997	232	2171	826	918	25	n/a	n/a	0	4172
1998	210	2071	852	903	30	n/a	n/a	0	4066
1999	182	1843	790	807	25	n/a	n/a	0	3647
2000	179	1681	727	753	20	n/a	n/a	0	3360
2001	153	1541	677	705	5	n/a	n/a	0	3081
2002	145	1558	748	658	9	n/a	n/a	0	3118
2003	145	1558	748	658	9	n/a	n/a	0	3118
2004	135	1565	755	684	9	n/a	n/a	0	3148
2005	114	1693	783	719	11	n/a	n/a	0	3320
2006	87	1681	831	718	12	n/a	n/a	0	3329
2007	83	1597	846	677	11	n/a	n/a	0	3214
2008	75	1615	901	755	17	n/a	n/a	0	3363
2009	67	1546	922	729	23	n/a	n/a	0	3287
2010	64	1396	935	701	27	n/a	n/a	0	3123
2011	84	1335	1127	734	16	0	0	0	3296
2012	90	1134	1140	702	15	1	2	0	3084
2013	91	1022	1192	753	16	18	16	0	3108
2014	103	1045	1197	823	40	0	19	0	3227
2015	114	992	1131	963	74	0	15	0	3289
2016	145	970	1070	1027	98	0	10	0	3320
2017	130	968	1008	1064	129	47	8	0	3354
2018	122	976	968	1113	131	38	4	0	3352
2019	108	866	1027	1098	142	35	10	0	3286
2020	96	795	944	1051	140	35	11	0	3072
2021	95	758	866	974	134	27	23	0	2877
2022	74	665	730	932	124	41	24	0	2590
2023	68	600	641	839	108	37	87	1	2381
2024	52	594	603	920	117	34	11	2	2333

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 Hillcrest High School

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	3548	175.0	20.2	n/a
1990	3450	162.2	21.2	n/a
1991	3282	155.9	21.0	n/a
1992	3315	141.0	23.5	n/a
1993	3254	146.5	22.2	n/a
1994	3395	152.0	22.3	n/a
1995	3999	158.8	25.2	n/a
1996	3999	158.8	25.2	n/a
1997	4172	177.2	23.5	27.6
1998	4066	186.9	21.8	21.8
1999	3647	178.4	20.4	23.8
2000	3360	158.6	21.2	36.3
2001	3081	159.2	19.4	58.1
2002	3118	n/a	n/a	n/a
2003	3118	n/a	n/a	n/a
2004	3148	n/a	n/a	n/a
2005	3320	n/a	n/a	0
2006	3329	157.0	21.2	42.8
2007	3214	151.4	21.2	38.9
2008	3363	144.2	23.3	36.8
2009	3287	141.3	23.3	76.3
2010	3123	131.0	23.8	n/a
2011	3296	143.4	22.9	73.1
2012	3084	146.8	21.0	79.3
2013	3108	142.4	21.8	6
2014	3227	142.2	22.6	80
2015	3289	149.0	22.0	81.8
2016	3320	152.0	21.8	77.9
2017	3354	159.0	21.0	79.8
2018	3352	167.0	20.0	82.3
2019	3286	177.6	18.4	82
2020	3072	169.7	18.0	82.4
2021	2877	165.6	17.3	81.6
2022	2590	164.6	15.7	81.4
2023	2381	154.3	15.4	81.9
2024	2333	154.7	15.0	82.7

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 Hillcrest High School

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	3548	175.0	20.2	n/a
1990	3450	162.2	21.2	n/a
1991	3282	155.9	21.0	n/a
1992	3315	141.0	23.5	n/a
1993	3254	146.5	22.2	n/a
1994	3395	152.0	22.3	n/a
1995	3999	158.8	25.2	n/a
1996	3999	158.8	25.2	n/a
1997	4172	177.2	23.5	27.6
1998	4066	186.9	21.8	21.8
1999	3647	178.4	20.4	23.8
2000	3360	158.6	21.2	36.3
2001	3081	159.2	19.4	58.1
2002	3118	n/a	n/a	n/a
2003	3118	n/a	n/a	n/a
2004	3148	n/a	n/a	n/a
2005	3320	n/a	n/a	0
2006	3329	157.0	21.2	42.8
2007	3214	151.4	21.2	38.9
2008	3363	144.2	23.3	36.8
2009	3287	141.3	23.3	76.3
2010	3123	131.0	23.8	n/a
2011	3296	143.4	22.9	73.1
2012	3084	146.8	21.0	79.3
2013	3108	142.4	21.8	6
2014	3227	142.2	22.6	80
2015	3289	149.0	22.0	81.8
2016	3320	152.0	21.8	77.9
2017	3354	159.0	21.0	79.8
2018	3352	167.0	20.0	82.3
2019	3286	177.6	18.4	82
2020	3072	169.7	18.0	82.4
2021	2877	165.6	17.3	81.6
2022	2590	164.6	15.7	81.4
2023	2381	154.3	15.4	81.9
2024	2333	154.7	15.0	82.7

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.

Immunization Rates