J.H.S. 259 William McKinley: SHSAT testers and specialized high school offers, 2022-2025
District 20 · Brooklyn · DBN 20K259
- 8th graders, 2025
- 636
- Sat the SHSAT
- 368
- Took the test
- 58%
- Offers
- 82
In 2025 admissions, 368 of the 636 eighth graders at J.H.S. 259 William McKinley who applied to high school sat the SHSAT: 58%, more than half the grade. That is close to the 54% rate across District 20. Citywide, among public middle schools that published both counts, 37% of eighth graders sat the test. It ranks 6th of 16 in District 20 on that measure. With 636 eighth graders applying to high school, it has the largest eighth grade of the 16 schools listed in District 20.
82 students from the school received an offer to one of the eight testing specialized high schools, 22% of its testers. Across the city, 4,023 offers went to 25,933 testers that year, 15.5%. That is the 6th highest count in the city, inside the group of 20 middle schools that together received 1,400 of the 4,023 offers.
The number of testers went from 325 in 2022 admissions to 368 in 2025, up 43. The sharpest move came between 2024 and 2025, when it rose by 80. Offers went from 80 in 2022 to 82 in 2025.
In District 20, the most offers in 2025 admissions went to students from J.H.S. 201 The Madeleine Brennan School (113), out of 469 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 37 of its students in 2022, 31 in 2023, 29 in 2024 and 29 in 2025.
Year by year
| Admissions year | 8th graders | Sat the SHSAT | Took the test | Offers | Discovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 555 | 325 | 59% | 80 | 37 |
| 2023 | 505 | 301 | 60% | 72 | 31 |
| 2024 | 520 | 288 | 55% | 77 | 29 |
| 2025 | 636 | 368 | 58% | 82 | 29 |
| District 20, 2025 | 3,891 | 2,116 | 54% | at least 469 | |
| New York City, 2025 | 25,933 | 4,023 |
“2025 admissions” means students who sat the SHSAT as eighth graders in the 2024-25 school year and received offers for fall 2025, as in the DOE’s admissions outcomes report. “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 20 with a similar share of testers
The schools just above and below J.H.S. 259 William McKinley when District 20’s schools are ordered by the share of eighth graders who sat the SHSAT in 2025 admissions.
- The Seeall Academy72% of 151 sat the test · 21 offers
- J.H.S. 201 The Madeleine Brennan School69% of 521 sat the test · 113 offers
- P.S. 229 Dyker68% of 120 sat the test · 10 offers
- P.S./I.S. 104 The Fort Hamilton School55% of 157 sat the test · 14 offers
- P.S. 163 Bath Beach53% of 78 sat the test · offers: 5 or fewer (not published)
- P.S. 192 - The Magnet School for Math and Science Inquiry48% of 61 sat the test · offers: 5 or fewer (not published)
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 J.H.S. 259 William McKinley, 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 3, 2026.
Your child is in 5th grade
Middle school applications: October 14 to December 11.
The middle school you choose now is where the SHSAT years happen. These counts show how many eighth graders sit the test at each school and how many get an offer; they do not say why. Ask the schools on your list how many of their students sit the SHSAT and how they prepare them, and plan the preparation for 6th and 7th grade, not for the October of 8th.
Dates for fall 2027 entry read on schools.nyc.gov on October 3, 2026.
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 20K259. Rebuilt 2026-10-03. Method and caveats are set out on the index page. Back to all 721 middle schools.