I.S. 281 Joseph B Cavallaro: SHSAT testers and specialized high school offers, 2022-2026
District 21 · Brooklyn · DBN 21K281
- 8th graders, 2026
- 426
- Sat the SHSAT
- 180
- Took the test
- 42%
- Offers
- 15
SHSAT 2026: registration October 6–30; the test is November 14–15 (School Day November 18, 9th grade November 21).
For families choosing a middle school
Getting in (Fall 2026 admissions)
In Fall 2026 middle school admissions, I.S. 281 Joseph B Cavallaro admitted sixth graders through 10 programs (Audition, Talent Test, D75 Special Education Inclusive Services, Language Criteria, Zone Priority).
Its most requested program, Joseph B. Cavallaro (I.S. 281) Magnet Program (Computer/Math), had 53 general education applicants for 21 seats, 3 applicants per seat in the DOE's count.
| Program | Admissions method | General education seats | Students with disabilities | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seats | Applicants | Per seat | All filled | Seats | Applicants | Per seat | ||
| Joseph B. Cavallaro (I.S. 281) Magnet Program (Art)Open to New York City residents | Audition | 21 | 23 | 1 | No | 4 | 2 | 1 |
| Joseph B. Cavallaro Magnet Program (Athletics)Open to New York City residents | Talent Test | 21 | 10 | 0 | No | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Joseph B. Cavallaro (I.S. 281) Magnet Program (Computer/Math)Open to New York City residents | Talent Test | 21 | 53 | 3 | Yes | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| Joseph B. Cavallaro (I.S. 281) Magnet Program (Dance)Open to New York City residents | Audition | 21 | 2 | 0 | No | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Joseph B. Cavallaro D75 Inclusion ProgramOpen to students currently in or recommended for District 75 Special Education Inclusive Services. If you are not currently in or recommended for these services, please contact D75info@schools.nyc.gov. | D75 Special Education Inclusive Services | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Joseph B. Cavallaro (I.S. 281) Magnet Program (Creative Writing/Journalism)Open to New York City residents | Talent Test | 21 | 10 | 0 | No | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| Joseph B. Cavallaro (I.S. 281) Mandarin Dual Language ProgramOpen to New York City residents | Language Criteria | 20 | 12 | 1 | No | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| Joseph B. Cavallaro (I.S. 281) Magnet Program (Science)Open to New York City residents | Talent Test | 21 | 19 | 1 | No | 4 | 3 | 1 |
| Joseph B. Cavallaro (I.S. 281)Open to New York City residents | Zone Priority | 168 | 127 | 1 | No | 37 | 42 | 1 |
| Joseph B. Cavallaro (I.S. 281) Magnet Program (Vocal Music)Open to New York City residents | Audition | 25 | 2 | 0 | No | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Where its students go next. The DOE lists John Dewey High School, New Utrecht High School and Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School as the high schools its students most often attend.
Fall 2026 admissions: families applied in fall 2025 for sixth grade in September 2026. Seats, applicants and applicants per seat are the DOE’s, from its Fall 2026 Middle School Data file on InfoHub (saved by the DOE 2026-09-18), the same figures MySchools shows as last year’s demand. The DOE counts applicants this way: “MySchools shows the true number of applicants who were considered for a seat in a program, meaning this number excludes applicants who matched to a more preferred choice from their application.” (schools.nyc.gov, read October 4, 2026). Applicants per seat is the DOE’s own figure, rounded to a whole number, so 0 means fewer than one applicant for every two seats. “All filled” is the DOE’s flag for whether every seat in that group was filled; “n/a” means the file gives no figure. Seats and demand change every year; this page does not turn them into a chance of admission.
In 2026 admissions, 426 eighth graders at I.S. 281 Joseph B Cavallaro applied to high school and 180 of them sat the SHSAT, a participation rate of 42%. Across District 21 the rate was 48%, so this school sits 5 points below it. Citywide, among public middle schools that published both counts, 39% of eighth graders sat the test. It ranks 4th of 16 in District 21 on that measure. Its eighth grade is the 3rd largest of 16 in District 21, above the median of 111.
15 students from the school received an offer to one of the eight testing specialized high schools, 8% of its testers. Across the city, 4,023 offers went to 26,123 testers that year, 15.4%. It ranks 60th of the 111 middle schools whose 2026 offer count was large enough to be published.
The number of testers went from 157 in 2022 admissions to 180 in 2026, up 23. Offers went from 8 in 2022 to 15 in 2026, with a high of 21 in 2025.
In District 21, the most offers in 2026 admissions went to students from Mark Twain I.S. 239 for the Gifted & Talented (173), out of 301 published for the district as a whole.
Discovery, the DOE’s summer program that offers a specialized high school seat to disadvantaged students who complete it, counted 16 of its students in 2022, 7 in 2023, 20 in 2024, 9 in 2025 and 6 in 2026.
Year by year
| Admissions year | 8th graders | Sat the SHSAT | Took the test | Offers | Discovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 410 | 157 | 38% | 8 | 16 |
| 2023 | 415 | 147 | 35% | 8 | 7 |
| 2024 | 438 | 154 | 35% | 20 | 20 |
| 2025 | 437 | 162 | 37% | 21 | 9 |
| 2026 | 426 | 180 | 42% | 15 | 6 |
| District 21, 2026 | 3,206 | 1,524 | 48% | at least 301 | |
| New York City, 2026 | 26,123 | 4,023 |
“2026 admissions” means students who sat the SHSAT as eighth graders in the 2025-26 school year and received offers for fall 2026, as in the DOE’s Fall 2026 SHSAT and Discovery Summary. “8th graders” counts the school’s eighth graders who applied to high school; “took the test” divides testers by that count when both are published. The district row adds the published counts of its schools, so its offers are a floor; the city row is the DOE’s own total. “Not listed” means the school is absent from that year’s file.
Schools in District 21 with a similar share of testers
The schools just above and below I.S. 281 Joseph B Cavallaro when District 21’s schools are ordered by the share of eighth graders who sat the SHSAT in 2026 admissions.
- Mark Twain I.S. 239 for the Gifted & Talented84% of 418 sat the test · 173 offers
- I.S. 98 Bay Academy76% of 478 sat the test · 81 offers
- I.S. 228 David A. Boody50% of 509 sat the test · 24 offers
- P.S. 095 The Gravesend39% of 82 sat the test · offers: 5 or fewer (not published)
- I.S. 096 Seth Low37% of 335 sat the test · 8 offers
- P.S. 238 Anne Sullivan36% of 66 sat the test · offers: 5 or fewer (not published)
See how this school ranks
In 2026 admissions, I.S. 281 Joseph B Cavallaro received 15 specialized high school offers for 180 students who sat the SHSAT: 8.3 per 100. That ranks it #26 of 29 in Brooklyn and #96 of 105 citywide, among schools with at least 30 test-takers.
Best middle schools in Brooklyn for the SHSAT
Compare with…
What to do with these numbers
Your child is in 8th grade now
Registration closes October 30. Test day: November 18.
November 18 is the SHSAT School Day; the weekend sittings are November 14/15 and November 21. Whatever the count at I.S. 281 Joseph B Cavallaro, the decision to sit the test is yours, and a scored official practice test tells you more about your own child than any school figure.
- How to register for the SHSAT, step by step
- Score an official SHSAT practice test, free
- Book an SHSAT session
Dates read on schools.nyc.gov on October 19, 2026.
Your child is in 6th or 7th grade
A 7th grader sits the SHSAT in fall 2027; a 6th grader, in fall 2028.
The test comes in the fall of 8th grade, so there is no deadline yet, and that is the point: starting now leaves time to work on reading and math at a steady pace instead of in the last weeks. The counts above show what happened at I.S. 281 Joseph B Cavallaro, not where your child stands. We start with a scored official practice test, which does.
Your child is in 5th grade
Middle school applications are open until December 11.
Start with how many families applied for each seat last year: the DOE publishes it program by program. The middle school you choose is also where the SHSAT years happen, so ask the schools on your list how many of their students sit the test and how they prepare them. This school has talent test programs: registration to test closes November 2.
- How hard I.S. 281 Joseph B Cavallaro is to get into
- SHSAT preparation: what it involves and when to start
Dates for fall 2027 entry read on schools.nyc.gov on October 3, 2026.
I.S. 281 Joseph B Cavallaro is a school figure. Your child needs a score.
Figures from Specialized High Schools Admissions Tests Results (school counts) and Specialized High Schools Admissions Overall Summary (city totals), New York City Department of Education, as listed for DBN 21K281; 2026 figures from the DOE’s Fall 2026 SHSAT and Discovery Summary on InfoHub, not yet on NYC Open Data. Rebuilt 2026-10-04. Method and caveats are set out on the index page. Back to all 735 middle schools.