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)
340007600483	471	Hope Academy Charter School	Public, Charter	K-8	601 Grand Avenue	Asbury Park	07712	Monmouth County	Hope Academy Charter School	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 988-4227	273	26	10.7	85.7%	1 (0.4%)	75 (27.5%)	195 (71.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.7%)	$7,849	$1,067	$6,782	34.8	21.8	583	112
340717006118	472	Highland Park Middle School	Public	6-8	330 Wayne Street	Highland Park	08904	Middlesex County	Highland Park Boro School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 572-2400	353	28	12.4	42.2%	121 (34.3%)	38 (10.8%)	103 (29.2%)	64 (18.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (7.6%)	$10,200	$462	$9,738	34.7	37.5	450	22
340237001340	473	Alice Costello Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	301 Haakon rd.	Brooklawn	08030	Camden County	Brooklawn Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(856) 456-4039	279	32	8.7	64.2%	156 (55.9%)	31 (11.1%)	60 (21.5%)	19 (6.8%)	2 (0.7%)	1 (0.4%)	10 (3.6%)	$12,492	$561	$11,931	34.7	24.7	559	86
341239003483	474	Palmyra Middle School	Public	6-8	311 W 5th Street	Palmyra	08065	Burlington County	Palmyra Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(856) 786-9300	189	18	10.8	28.0%	97 (51.3%)	35 (18.5%)	31 (16.4%)	5 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	18 (9.5%)				34.6	36.9	459	15
340549000563	475	Franklin Middle School at Sampson G. Smith Campus	Public	6-8	1649 Amwell Road	Somerset	08873	Somerset County	Franklin Township Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 873-2800	706	72	9.8	47.0%	79 (11.2%)	260 (36.8%)	217 (30.7%)	129 (18.3%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (2.7%)	$8,780	$204	$8,576	34.2	41.3	417	58
341227002410	476	Orange Preparatory Academy School of Inquiry and Innovation	Public	8	400 Central Ave	Orange	07050	Essex County	ORANGE BOARD OF EDUCATION School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 677-4135	414	50	8.2	79.5%	1 (0.2%)	219 (52.9%)	190 (45.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.7%)	$12,917	$383	$12,534	34.1	29.6	512	36
341146002890	477	Lincoln Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	1206 63rd St	North Bergen	07047	Hudson County	North Bergen School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(201) 295-2850	1,309	106	12.3	61.4%	115 (8.8%)	8 (0.6%)	1,155 (88.2%)	28 (2.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	$7,656		$7,656	34	39.2	438	39
341752005002	478	Macopin Middle School	Public	6-8	70 Highlander Drive	West Milford	07480	Passaic County	West Milford Township Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 697-5691	747	63	11.7	19.3%	583 (78.0%)	20 (2.7%)	118 (15.8%)	9 (1.2%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (1.9%)	$11,405	$170	$11,235	34	43.2	402	76
340079103403	479	College Achieve Greater Asbury Park Charter School District	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	3455 West Bangs Ave	Neptune	07753	Monmouth County	College Achieve Greater Asbury Park Charter School	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 774-0727	554	38	14.5	51.8%	0 (0.0%)	309 (55.8%)	228 (41.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (3.1%)	$13,303	$1,076	$12,227	33.6	42.1	411	68
340792000209	480	David Brearley Middle/High School	Public	7-12	401 Monroe Avenue	Kenilworth	07033	Union County	Kenilworth School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(908) 931-9696	774	73	10.6	15.0%	390 (50.4%)	52 (6.7%)	292 (37.7%)	25 (3.2%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	13 (1.7%)	$8,540		$8,540	33.6	29.4	513	33

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New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for NJ student subgroups:

Female Students Male Students Asian Students African American Students Hispanic Students White Students English Language Learner Students Special Education Students Low Socio Economic Status Students

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:

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

No Child Left Behind (NCLB): A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Impact on Education

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.

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)
340007600483	471	Hope Academy Charter School	Public, Charter	K-8	601 Grand Avenue	Asbury Park	07712	Monmouth County	Hope Academy Charter School	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 988-4227	273	26	10.7	85.7%	1 (0.4%)	75 (27.5%)	195 (71.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.7%)	$7,849			$1,067			$6,782	34.8	21.8	583	112
340717006118	472	Highland Park Middle School	Public	6-8	330 Wayne Street	Highland Park	08904	Middlesex County	Highland Park Boro School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 572-2400	353	28	12.4	42.2%	121 (34.3%)	38 (10.8%)	103 (29.2%)	64 (18.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (7.6%)	$10,200			$462			$9,738	34.7	37.5	450	22
340237001340	473	Alice Costello Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	301 Haakon rd.	Brooklawn	08030	Camden County	Brooklawn Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(856) 456-4039	279	32	8.7	64.2%	156 (55.9%)	31 (11.1%)	60 (21.5%)	19 (6.8%)	2 (0.7%)	1 (0.4%)	10 (3.6%)	$12,492			$561			$11,931	34.7	24.7	559	86
341239003483	474	Palmyra Middle School	Public	6-8	311 W 5th Street	Palmyra	08065	Burlington County	Palmyra Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(856) 786-9300	189	18	10.8	28.0%	97 (51.3%)	35 (18.5%)	31 (16.4%)	5 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	18 (9.5%)								34.6	36.9	459	15
340549000563	475	Franklin Middle School at Sampson G. Smith Campus	Public	6-8	1649 Amwell Road	Somerset	08873	Somerset County	Franklin Township Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 873-2800	706	72	9.8	47.0%	79 (11.2%)	260 (36.8%)	217 (30.7%)	129 (18.3%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (2.7%)	$8,780			$204			$8,576	34.2	41.3	417	58
341227002410	476	Orange Preparatory Academy School of Inquiry and Innovation	Public	8	400 Central Ave	Orange	07050	Essex County	ORANGE BOARD OF EDUCATION School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 677-4135	414	50	8.2	79.5%	1 (0.2%)	219 (52.9%)	190 (45.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.7%)	$12,917			$383			$12,534	34.1	29.6	512	36
341146002890	477	Lincoln Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	1206 63rd St	North Bergen	07047	Hudson County	North Bergen School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(201) 295-2850	1,309	106	12.3	61.4%	115 (8.8%)	8 (0.6%)	1,155 (88.2%)	28 (2.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	$7,656						$7,656	34	39.2	438	39
341752005002	478	Macopin Middle School	Public	6-8	70 Highlander Drive	West Milford	07480	Passaic County	West Milford Township Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 697-5691	747	63	11.7	19.3%	583 (78.0%)	20 (2.7%)	118 (15.8%)	9 (1.2%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (1.9%)	$11,405			$170			$11,235	34	43.2	402	76
340079103403	479	College Achieve Greater Asbury Park Charter School District	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	3455 West Bangs Ave	Neptune	07753	Monmouth County	College Achieve Greater Asbury Park Charter School	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 774-0727	554	38	14.5	51.8%	0 (0.0%)	309 (55.8%)	228 (41.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (3.1%)	$13,303			$1,076			$12,227	33.6	42.1	411	68
340792000209	480	David Brearley Middle/High School	Public	7-12	401 Monroe Avenue	Kenilworth	07033	Union County	Kenilworth School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(908) 931-9696	774	73	10.6	15.0%	390 (50.4%)	52 (6.7%)	292 (37.7%)	25 (3.2%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	13 (1.7%)	$8,540						$8,540	33.6	29.4	513	33