Best Public Schools in Scotch Plains, NJ

Summary:

The city of Scotch Plains, New Jersey is home to a high-performing school district, with 15 schools serving students from elementary through high school. The district is composed of 5 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and 8 high schools, including several specialized high schools operated by the Union County Vocational-Technical School District.

The standout schools in the Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District include Union County Magnet High School and Academy for Allied Health Sciences, which are ranked 6th and 8th respectively out of 426 high schools in New Jersey. These schools boast exceptional test scores, low dropout rates, and high graduation rates. Another high-performing school is Academy for Information Technology, ranked 4th in the state. On the elementary level, J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School and Howard B. Brunner Elementary School are the top performers, ranking 178th and 127th out of 1,338 elementary schools in New Jersey.

Overall, the Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District is a high-quality, well-resourced district, with all of its schools rated 4 or 5 stars by SchoolDigger. The district's schools generally outperform state averages on standardized assessments, have strong graduation rates, and low dropout rates. The specialized high schools operated by the Union County Vocational-Technical School District are particularly impressive, consistently ranking among the top high schools in the state.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2024)				Ranking (2023)				NJSLA-S Science (2024)			NJSLA English Language Arts (2024)							NJSLA Mathematics (2024)						NJSLA Algebra I (2024)			NJSLA Geometry (2024)			NJSLA Algebra II (2024)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Statewide Rank (2023)	State Percentile (2023)	Rank Change from Previous Year	NJSLA-S Science 5th Grade	NJSLA-S Science 8th Grade	NJSLA-S Science 11th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 3rd Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 4th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 5th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 6th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 7th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 8th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 9th Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 3rd Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 4th Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 5th Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 6th Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 7th Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 8th Grade	NJSLA Algebra I 8th Grade	NJSLA Algebra I 9th Grade	NJSLA Algebra I End of Course	NJSLA Geometry 9th Grade	NJSLA Geometry 10th Grade	NJSLA Geometry End of Course	NJSLA Algebra II 9th Grade	NJSLA Algebra II End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Union Regional School	Public, Alternative	2-12	1524 Terrill Road	Scotch Plains	07076	Union County	Office Of Education Department Of Children And Families	No	(n/a)	No	No	(908) 322-1641	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School	Public	9-12	667 Westfield Road	Scotch Plains	07076	Union County	Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(908) 889-8600	1,551	116	13.3	4.6%	960 (61.9%)	135 (8.7%)	250 (16.1%)	124 (8.0%)	3 (0.2%)	3 (0.2%)	73 (4.7%)	58.8	125^th of 426 public high schools	70.7%		57.5	127^th of 422 public high schools	69.9%	2			51.5							72.7								10.2	10.2	47.8		47.7			$9,238	$37	$9,201
Malcolm E Nettingham Middle School	Public	5-8	580 Park Avenue	Scotch Plains	07076	Union County	Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 322-4445	933	82	11.4	6.5%	515 (55.2%)	79 (8.5%)	176 (18.9%)	111 (11.9%)	3 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	49 (5.3%)	74.1	167^th of 743 public middle schools	77.5%		71.3	187^th of 748 public middle schools	75.0%	20	40.2	30.6				68.5	72.5	70.6	77.4				48.7	42.8	52.9	0.0	71.8		71.8						$8,253	$52	$8,201
Terrill Middle School	Public	5-8	1301 Terrill Road	Scotch Plains	07076	Union County	Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(908) 322-5215	834	72	11.5	1.6%	534 (64.0%)	45 (5.4%)	94 (11.3%)	115 (13.8%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (5.4%)	73.3	172^nd of 743 public middle schools	76.9%		75	160^th of 748 public middle schools	78.6%	12	45.6	28.5				74.8	62.2	74.7	69.5				62.9	49.8	70.2	15.4	63.6		63.6						$9,029	$03	$9,026
School One Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	563 Willow Avenue	Scotch Plains	07076	Union County	Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 322-7731	412	34	12.2	7.5%	224 (54.4%)	36 (8.7%)	84 (20.4%)	48 (11.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.6%)	74.4	361^st of 1338 public elementary schools	73.0%		71.5	406^th of 1342 public elementary schools	69.7%	45				55.1	66.2						60.6	64.8													$8,863	$53	$8,810
Howard B. Brunner Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	721 Westfield Road	Scotch Plains	07076	Union County	Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 889-2148	415	33	12.5	5.5%	227 (54.7%)	35 (8.4%)	70 (16.9%)	53 (12.8%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	26 (6.3%)	89.3	127^th of 1338 public elementary schools	90.5%		85.7	193^rd of 1342 public elementary schools	85.6%	66				70.4	74.7						81.8	73.6													$8,968	$35	$8,933
J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	16 Kevin Road	Scotch Plains	07076	Union County	Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(908) 757-7555	548	40	13.7	2.6%	336 (61.3%)	31 (5.7%)	63 (11.5%)	81 (14.8%)	2 (0.4%)	3 (0.5%)	32 (5.8%)	86.9	178^th of 1338 public elementary schools	86.7%		89	134^th of 1342 public elementary schools	90.0%	44				60.0	79.6						71.0	81.6													$7,390	$09	$7,381
Evergreen Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	2280 Evergreen Avenue	Scotch Plains	07076	Union County	Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 889-5331	425	36	11.9	2.1%	251 (59.1%)	31 (7.3%)	54 (12.7%)	63 (14.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	24 (5.6%)	70.6	412^th of 1338 public elementary schools	69.2%		87	170^th of 1342 public elementary schools	87.3%	242				43.9	80.0						50.7	72.9													$9,438	$41	$9,397
William J. McGinn Elementary School	Public	K-4	1100 Roosevelt Avenue	Scotch Plains	07076	Union County	Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(908) 233-7950	549	39	13.9	0.7%	369 (67.2%)	13 (2.4%)	71 (12.9%)	64 (11.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (5.8%)	87.4	162^nd of 1338 public elementary schools	87.9%		86.9	172^nd of 1342 public elementary schools	87.2%	10				67.4	76.2						70.5	76.1													$8,178	$04	$8,174
Hillcrest Academy-North	Public	9-12	2630 Plainfield Avenue	Scotch Plains	07076	Union County	Union County Educational Services Commission	No	(n/a)	No	No	(908) 233-9366	66	9	7.7	65.2%	1 (1.5%)	12 (18.2%)	53 (80.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																									$40,949		$40,949
Union County Magnet High School	Public	9-12	1776 Raritan Road	Scotch Plains	07076	Union County	Union County Vocational-Technical School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(908) 889-8288	311	15	20.9	6.4%	88 (28.3%)	19 (6.1%)	70 (22.5%)	123 (39.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.9%)	93.4	6^th of 426 public high schools	98.6%		95.9	5^th of 422 public high schools	98.8%	1			98.8							98.7										88.5	75.0	84.2	100.0	100.0	$8,753	$36	$8,717
Academy For Allied Health Sciences	Public	9-12	1776 Raritan Road	Scotch Plains	07076	Union County	Union County Vocational-Technical School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 889-8288	304	16	19.3	8.2%	99 (32.6%)	39 (12.8%)	67 (22.0%)	90 (29.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	7 (2.3%)	92	8^th of 426 public high schools	98.1%		97.1	1^st of 422 public high schools	99.8%	7			89.1							98.7										93.4	42.9	72.5			$8,221	$35	$8,186
Academy For Performing Arts	Public	9-12	1776 Raritan Road	Scotch Plains	07076	Union County	Union County Vocational-Technical School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(908) 889-8288	240	15	16.3	5.8%	100 (41.7%)	40 (16.7%)	75 (31.3%)	9 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.8%)	8 (3.3%)	80	49^th of 426 public high schools	88.5%		79.9	45^th of 422 public high schools	89.3%	4			51.6							95.6								60.9	60.9		40.6	45.0			$11,042	$46	$10,996
Union County Career & Technical Institute	Public	9-12	1776 Raritan Road	Scotch Plains	07076	Union County	Union County Vocational-Technical School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(908) 889-8288	17	22	.7	41.2%	5 (29.4%)	4 (23.5%)	6 (35.3%)	1 (5.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (5.9%)								(n/a)																									$8,313	$972	$7,341
Union County Technical	Public	9-12	1776 Raritan Rd	Scotch Plains	07076	Union County	Union County Vocational-Technical School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 889-8288	507	24	21.3	9.1%	187 (36.9%)	85 (16.8%)	159 (31.4%)	51 (10.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	22 (4.3%)	83.4	38^th of 426 public high schools	91.1%		94.9	6^th of 422 public high schools	98.6%	32			55.1							97.5								72.7	72.7	88.3	35.7	55.5			$6,462	$23	$6,439
Academy For Information Technology	Public	9-12	1776 Raritan Road	Scotch Plains	07076	Union County	Union County Vocational-Technical School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(908) 889-8288	303	15	20.1	6.6%	89 (29.4%)	34 (11.2%)	65 (21.5%)	101 (33.3%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	10 (3.3%)	93.9	4^th of 426 public high schools	99.1%		90	17^th of 422 public high schools	96.0%	13			90.1							100.0										93.4	65.0	82.0	100.0	100.0	$8,671	$36	$8,635

Cities Near Scotch Plains

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Plainfield	1.22 mi	21	470^th
Edison	1.68 mi	20	171^st
Westfield	2.06 mi	15	42^nd
South Plainfield	2.33 mi	8	321^st
Clark	2.51 mi	5	198^th

See the top NJ New Jersey cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the New Jersey Department of Education.

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.