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)
340096000022	661	Uptown School Complex	Public	PK, KG-8	323 Madison Avenue	Atlantic City	08401	Atlantic County	Atlantic City School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(609) 344-8809	556	53	10.4	92.8%	3 (0.5%)	285 (51.3%)	241 (43.3%)	9 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (3.2%)	$14,625			$2,387			$12,238	14.2	12.6	682	21
340459005498	662	Toussaint L'Ouverture-Marquis de Lafayette School No. 6	Public	PK, KG-8	1071 Julia St	Elizabeth	07201	Union County	Elizabeth Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 436-5600	1,042	81	12.9	81.4%	83 (8.0%)	224 (21.5%)	707 (67.9%)	23 (2.2%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	$9,262			$234			$9,028	14.2	15.4	645	17
341254004840	663	Mario Drago School No. 3	Public	PK, KG-8	155 Van Houten Ave.	Passaic	07055	Passaic County	Passaic City School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 470-5503	694	60	11.5	99.0%	25 (3.6%)	15 (2.2%)	586 (84.4%)	58 (8.4%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.2%)	$10,486			$800			$9,686	14.1	18.1	618	45
340729005546	664	Walter O. Krumbiegel Middle School	Public	7-8	145 Hillside Ave	Hillside	07205	Union County	Hillside Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 352-7664	376	43	8.7	60.1%	27 (7.2%)	220 (58.5%)	125 (33.2%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	$8,834						$8,834	14	24.7	558	106
341134002360	665	Sussex Avenue School	Public	PK, KG-8	307 Sussex Ave	Newark	07107	Essex County	Newark Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 268-5200	513	32	16	77.4%	15 (2.9%)	162 (31.6%)	332 (64.7%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$9,703			$721			$8,982	13.9	18.5	612	53
341032000271	666	Lakeside Middle School	Public	6-8	2 N Sharp St	Millville	08332	Cumberland County	Millville School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(856) 293-2420	987	93	10.6	70.2%	297 (30.1%)	344 (34.9%)	273 (27.7%)	6 (0.6%)	3 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	64 (6.5%)	$9,743			$398			$9,345	13.8	10.9	704	38
341134002318	667	McKinley Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	1 Colonnade Pl	Newark	07104	Essex County	Newark Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 268-5270	686	60	11.4	79.7%	25 (3.6%)	252 (36.7%)	405 (59.0%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	$9,994			$791			$9,203	13.8	23.9	566	101
340447001064	668	Samuel M Ridgway Middle School	Public	5-8	300 Delanco Rd	Edgewater Park	08010	Burlington County	Edgewater Park Township School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(609) 871-3434	417	34	12.2	54.7%	155 (37.2%)	140 (33.6%)	93 (22.3%)	9 (2.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.6%)	$14,109			$345			$13,764	13.8	24.6	560	108
341353005636	669	Rahway 7th & 8th Grade Academy	Public	7-8	1157 Kline Place	Rahway	07065	Union County	Rahway Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 396-1025	675	60	11.2	48.3%	96 (14.2%)	233 (34.5%)	301 (44.6%)	25 (3.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	19 (2.8%)	$13,603			$221			$13,382	13.8	16	639	30
340079403457	670	Achievers Early College Prep Charter School	Public, Charter	6-10	544 Chestnut Ave	Trenton	08611	Mercer County	Achievers Early College Prep Charter School	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(609) 429-0279	353	20	17.6	62.0%	4 (1.1%)	57 (16.1%)	288 (81.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.8%)								13.6	18	619	51

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for New Jersey

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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:

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

Charter Schools vs Regular Public Schools: Understanding the Key Differences

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.