P.S. 188 The Island School: SHSAT testers and specialized high school offers, 2022-2026
District 1 · Manhattan · DBN 01M188
- 8th graders, 2026
- 55
- Sat the SHSAT
- 11
- Took the test
- 20%
- Offers
- 5 or fewer (not published)
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, P.S. 188 The Island School admitted sixth graders through 2 programs (D75 Special Education Inclusive Services, Open).
Its most requested program, The Island School (P.S. 188), had 17 general education applicants for 43 seats, fewer than one applicant per seat in the DOE's count.
The DOE marks that program’s general education seats as not all filled.
| Program | Admissions method | General education seats | Students with disabilities | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seats | Applicants | Per seat | All filled | Seats | Applicants | Per seat | ||
| P.S. 188 The Island School 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 | 1 | n/a | n/a | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| The Island School (P.S. 188)Open to New York City residents | Open | 43 | 17 | 0 | No | 17 | 25 | 1 |
Where its students go next. The DOE lists Orchard Collegiate Academy, Lower Manhattan Arts Academy and Urban Assembly School for Media Studies, The 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, 55 eighth graders at P.S. 188 The Island School applied to high school, and only 11 of them sat the SHSAT (20%). Across District 1 the rate was 45%, so this school sits 25 points below it. Citywide, among public middle schools that published both counts, 39% of eighth graders sat the test. It ranks 6th of 9 in District 1 on that measure. Its eighth grade is smaller than most in District 1: 6th of 9, against a median of 58.
The number of its students who received an offer to a specialized high school was 5 or fewer. The DOE does not publish counts that small, so it could be any number from zero to five; this page does not guess. That is the case at 7 of the 9 schools listed in District 1 for 2026.
The number of testers ended close to where it began, 14 in 2022 admissions and 11 in 2026, but not in a straight line: it rose by 23 between 2023 and 2024.
In District 1, the most offers in 2026 admissions went to students from New Explorations Into Science, Technology and Math High School (71), out of 98 published for the district as a whole.
Year by year
| Admissions year | 8th graders | Sat the SHSAT | Took the test | Offers | Discovery |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 54 | 14 | 26% | 5 or fewer (not published) | 5 or fewer (not published) |
| 2023 | 47 | 7 | 15% | 5 or fewer (not published) | 5 or fewer (not published) |
| 2024 | 68 | 30 | 44% | 5 or fewer (not published) | 5 or fewer (not published) |
| 2025 | 58 | 14 | 24% | 5 or fewer (not published) | 5 or fewer (not published) |
| 2026 | 55 | 11 | 20% | 5 or fewer (not published) | 5 or fewer (not published) |
| District 1, 2026 | 638 | 288 | 45% | at least 98 | |
| 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 1 with a similar share of testers
The schools just above and below P.S. 188 The Island School when District 1’s schools are ordered by the share of eighth graders who sat the SHSAT in 2026 admissions.
- P.S. 034 Franklin D. Roosevelt81% of 16 sat the test · offers: 5 or fewer (not published)
- University Neighborhood Middle School31% of 49 sat the test · offers: 5 or fewer (not published)
- Tompkins Square Middle School30% of 97 sat the test · offers: 5 or fewer (not published)
- East Side Community School19% of 106 sat the test · offers: 5 or fewer (not published)
- P.S. 140 Nathan Straus17% of 58 sat the test · offers: 5 or fewer (not published)
- School for Global Leaders13% of 48 sat the test · offers: 5 or fewer (not published)
See how this school ranks
P.S. 188 The Island School is not ranked for 2026 admissions: 11 students sat the SHSAT, under the 30 we require for a stable rate.
Best middle schools in Manhattan 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 P.S. 188 The Island School, 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 P.S. 188 The Island School, 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.
- How hard P.S. 188 The Island School 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.
P.S. 188 The Island School 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 01M188; 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.