Best Middle Schools in New Jersey

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Find the best New Jersey middle schools with SchoolDigger.com! Focused on test scores for accurate rankings, our user-friendly site simplifies your search. Empower your decisions by exploring top-rated schools, only on SchoolDigger.com - the ultimate guide to K-12 schools!

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish New Jersey test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

Alert! We are expecting the release of this year's test scores by the New Jersey Department of Education any day now! We will update our rankings as soon as they are released!

Alert! New test scores and rankings are expected from the New Jersey Department of Education any day now!

School															Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)							Ranking (2023 vs 2022)
ID	Rank (of 748)	School	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Disc Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel from Federal Funds	Total from Federal Funds	Personnel from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Total from State and Local Funds	Average Standard Score (2023)	Average Standard Score (2022)	Rank (2022)	Rank Change from 2022	SchoolDigger Rating (2023)
340459005962	611	Nicholas S. Lacorte-Peterstown School No. 3	Public	K-8	700 Second Ave	Elizabeth	07202	Union County	Elizabeth Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 436-6230	807	63	12.8	86.0%	26 (3.2%)	80 (9.9%)	688 (85.3%)	9 (1.1%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$10,474			$262			$10,212	19	21.1	588	23
341134002278	612	Franklin Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	42 Park Ave	Newark	07104	Essex County	Newark Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 268-5250	745	61	12.2	83.8%	13 (1.7%)	99 (13.3%)	627 (84.2%)	6 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$12,556			$386			$12,170	18.7			(n/a)
340075603185	613	Dr Lena Edwards Academic Charter School	Public, Charter	K-8	509 Bramhall Ave.	Jersey City	07304	Hudson County	Dr Lena Edwards Academic Charter School	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(201) 433-5300	380	27	14	75.3%	0 (0.0%)	317 (83.4%)	58 (15.3%)	3 (0.8%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$10,336			$1,186			$9,150	18.6	19.1	603	10
341269003263	614	Joseph A. Taub School	Public	6-8	202 Union Avenue	Paterson	07502	Passaic County	Paterson Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 321-0700	978	54	18.1	51.3%	32 (3.3%)	127 (13.0%)	578 (59.1%)	240 (24.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	$7,202						$7,202	18.5	28	523	91
340861005558	615	Myles J. McManus MIddle School	Public	6-8	300 Edgewood Road	Linden	07036	Union County	Linden Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(908) 486-7751	686	64	10.8	57.7%	127 (18.5%)	198 (28.9%)	308 (44.9%)	26 (3.8%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	24 (3.5%)	$9,022			$194			$8,828	18.4	20.9	589	26
341134000091	616	Rafael Hernandez School	Public	PK, KG-8	345 Broadway	Newark	07104	Essex County	Newark Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 481-5004	553	48	11.5	79.6%	20 (3.6%)	143 (25.9%)	383 (69.3%)	4 (0.7%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	$8,503			$721			$7,782	18.3	13.1	668	52
341293003542	617	William C. McGinnis Middle School	Public	6-8	271 State Street	Perth Amboy	08861	Middlesex County	Perth Amboy Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 376-6040	1,230	101	12.2	87.6%	5 (0.4%)	30 (2.4%)	1,184 (96.3%)	3 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	7 (0.6%)	$12,488			$649			$11,839	18.2	18	620	3
340507000436	618	Lincoln School	Public	3-8	140 Anderson Avenue	Fairview	07022	Bergen County	Fairview Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(201) 943-0560	666	57	11.6	80.0%	68 (10.2%)	5 (0.8%)	587 (88.1%)	5 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$10,180			$1,153			$9,027	17.9	21.1	587	31
340816004632	619	Lakehurst Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	301 Union Ave	Lakehurst	08733	Ocean County	Lakehurst School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 657-5741	381	38	10	54.1%	199 (52.2%)	55 (14.4%)	101 (26.5%)	9 (2.4%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (3.7%)	$16,629			$961			$15,668	17.9	15	652	33
340459005494	620	Winfield Scott School No. 2	Public	PK, KG-8	125 Madison Ave	Elizabeth	07201	Union County	Elizabeth Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 436-6150	637	55	11.6	81.0%	26 (4.1%)	225 (35.3%)	373 (58.6%)	12 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$9,616			$240			$9,376	17.6	16.3	636	16

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New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for NJ student subgroups:

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About our rankings:

Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on NJSLA English Language Arts, NJSLA Mathematics, NJSLA Algebra I, NJSLA Geometry, NJSLA Algebra II, NJSLA-S Science test scores released by the New Jersey Department of Education.
These rankings were last updated on December 6, 2023, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the New Jersey Department of Education, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the New Jersey Department of Education.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

Alternative Schools vs Public Schools: A Comparison

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

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.