Dr. Paul Rafalides School

Summary:

Dr. Paul Rafalides School is an elementary school in Jersey City Public Schools, serving 364 students from pre-kindergarten to 4th grade. The school faces several challenges, including declining academic performance, high chronic absenteeism, and achievement gaps among different student subgroups.

Academically, Dr. Paul Rafalides School has struggled, ranking 950 out of 1,342 New Jersey elementary schools and receiving a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school's performance has declined over the years, dropping from a 3-star rating in the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 school years. When compared to other nearby schools in the Jersey City Public Schools district, Dr. Paul Rafalides School generally performs worse, with lower proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics than the district and state averages.

The school's diverse student population, with 21.98% White, 23.9% African American, 29.95% Hispanic, and 19.23% Asian students, is a strength. However, the school's performance varies significantly across different student subgroups, with Asian and African American students generally performing better than Hispanic and White students. Additionally, the school has experienced a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 8.6% in the 2018-2019 school year to 29.9% in the 2021-2022 school year, which is notably higher than the district and state averages. Addressing these challenges will require a comprehensive, data-driven approach that focuses on improving instructional practices, increasing student engagement, and providing targeted support to students and families.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-4

 362 Union St
       Jersey City, NJ  07304-1212


(201) 915-6540

District: Jersey City Public Schools

SchoolDigger Rank:
950th of 1,342 New Jersey Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $10,226 Help


Students who attend Dr. Paul Rafalides School usually attend:

High:    Lincoln High School

Student/teacher ratio:  11.7 Help
Number of students:  364

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
29.9%
African American:
23.9%
White:
22.0%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  61.3% Help


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Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Dr. Paul Rafalides School ranks worse than 70.8% of elementary schools in New Jersey. It also ranks 13th among 26 ranked elementary schools in the Jersey City Public Schools District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2023 the calculated Average Standard Score was 30.26. (See more...)
Help
Chronic absenteeism in a high school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.
Student Body
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Compare Details Student population at Dr. Paul Rafalides School is diverse. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (29.9%), African American (23.9%), White (22%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 61.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Dr. Paul Rafalides School is 11.7. 13 elementary schools in the Jersey City Public Schools District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)
Help
Compare Dr. Paul Rafalides School employs 31 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Dr. Paul Rafalides School is $10,226. 18 elementary schools in the Jersey City Public Schools District spend more per student.
Schooldigger 2023 Rankings:

Dr. Paul Rafalides School:

SchoolDigger ranks Dr. Paul Rafalides School 950th of 1342 New Jersey public elementary schools. (See Dr. Paul Rafalides School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


English Language Learner students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
Asian students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Jersey City Public Schools:

SchoolDigger ranks Jersey City Public Schools 459th of 615 New Jersey school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Dr. Paul Rafalides School

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Dr. Paul Rafalides School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2003 71.84 408th 1204 66.1%
2004 38.28 949th 1298 26.9%
2005 38.32 962nd 1303 26.2%
2006 34.05 1016th 1314 22.7%
2007 42.48 955th 1329 28.1%
2008 35.36 1018th 1338 23.9%
2009 34.64 1017th 1346 24.4%
2010 67.95 500th 1354 63.1%
2011 59.90 690th 1360 49.3%
2012 56.40 732nd 1363 46.3%
2013 54.95 745th 1367 45.5%
2014 37.42 974th 1363 28.5%
2015 59.76 566th 1357 58.3%
2016 55.89 634th 1346 52.9%
2017 56.12 642nd 1352 52.5%
2018 72.02 422nd 1353 68.8%
2019 53.77 674th 1360 50.4%
2021 21.19 1002nd 1317 23.9%
2022 27.73 965th 1345 28.3%
2023 30.26 950th 1342 29.2%
See the entire list of New Jersey Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Dr. Paul Rafalides School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 88.35 41st 434 90.6%
2019 70.11 110th 463 76.2%
2021 28.09 314th 411 23.6%
2022 40.05 246th 489 49.7%
2023 61.31 136th 499 72.7%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Dr. Paul Rafalides School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 13.31 932nd 1007 7.4%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Dr. Paul Rafalides School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 95.69 21st 942 97.8%
2019 79.01 106th 948 88.8%
2021 62.02 213th 839 74.6%
2022 53.16 337th 863 61.0%
2023 53.79 349th 910 61.6%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Dr. Paul Rafalides School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 63.25 522nd 1333 60.8%
2019 52.99 658th 1331 50.6%
2021 20.37 1033rd 1290 19.9%
2022 28.40 930th 1326 29.9%
2023 27.96 943rd 1318 28.5%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Dr. Paul Rafalides School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 78.31 282nd 1334 78.9%
2019 53.75 644th 1335 51.8%
2021 25.57 906th 1297 30.1%
2022 28.77 928th 1324 29.9%
2023 34.33 845th 1315 35.7%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Dr. Paul Rafalides School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 52.75 182nd 370 50.8%
2019 51.60 186th 370 49.7%
2021 9.93 315th 339 7.1%
2022 6.25 306th 348 12.1%
2023 2.42 319th 346 7.8%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at Dr. Paul Rafalides School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 83.18 63rd 517 87.8%
2019 70.06 122nd 522 76.6%
2021 35.31 302nd 456 33.8%
2022 38.41 310th 494 37.2%
2023 42.67 255th 463 44.9%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Dr. Paul Rafalides School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 81.60 114th 870 86.9%
2019 56.05 347th 899 61.4%
2021 20.34 806th 896 10.0%
2022 35.20 598th 953 37.3%
2023 19.91 811th 982 17.4%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Dr. Paul Rafalides School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 42.90 617th 1023 39.7%
2021 31.94 707th 964 26.7%
2022 42.72 583rd 976 40.3%
2023 39.89 605th 975 37.9%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: New Jersey Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Dr. Paul Rafalides School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 




Data source: New Jersey Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Dr. Paul Rafalides School

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Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 119 44 59 123 0 n/a n/a 0 345
1989 125 60 64 109 0 n/a n/a 0 358
1990 99 56 89 98 0 n/a n/a 0 342
1991 88 52 89 131 0 n/a n/a 0 360
1992 80 75 83 141 0 n/a n/a 0 379
1993 82 98 88 148 0 n/a n/a 0 416
1994 86 106 89 132 2 n/a n/a 0 415
1995 87 142 110 229 0 n/a n/a 0 568
1996 87 142 110 229 0 n/a n/a 0 568
1998 77 113 102 121 0 n/a n/a 0 413
1999 82 128 93 114 0 n/a n/a 0 417
2000 80 107 89 121 1 n/a n/a 0 398
2001 83 99 97 126 6 n/a n/a 0 411
2002 88 114 73 118 0 n/a n/a 0 393
2003 88 114 73 118 0 n/a n/a 0 393
2004 75 104 69 111 0 n/a n/a 0 359
2005 59 111 82 96 0 n/a n/a 0 348
2006 40 121 100 93 2 n/a n/a 0 356
2007 42 109 115 118 4 n/a n/a 0 388
2008 64 113 96 125 3 n/a n/a 0 401
2009 68 100 77 121 3 10 0 0 379
2010 76 98 102 114 2 6 0 0 398
2011 68 118 119 100 0 3 0 0 408
2012 60 108 115 105 0 5 0 0 393
2013 66 125 106 101 0 6 2 0 406
2014 52 119 105 111 0 7 4 0 398
2015 58 103 100 126 2 6 5 0 400
2016 60 115 97 123 2 4 8 0 409
2017 57 111 94 127 3 4 8 0 404
2018 72 124 96 123 3 4 5 0 427
2019 86 119 81 128 1 1 8 0 424
2020 106 127 74 118 1 2 10 0 438
2021 106 110 70 114 1 4 5 0 410
2022 87 98 66 117 0 3 6 0 377
2023 80 87 70 109 0 6 12 0 364

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Dr. Paul Rafalides School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 345 13.0 26.5 n/a
1989 358 16.0 22.3 n/a
1990 342 14.0 24.4 25.4
1991 360 19.0 18.9 33.1
1992 379 18.0 21.0 34.3
1993 416 20.0 20.8 40.9
1994 415 20.0 20.8 39.5
1995 568 32.0 17.8 64.4
1996 568 32.0 17.8 64.4
1998 413 20.0 20.7 62.5
1999 417 20.0 20.9 52.3
2000 398 23.0 17.3 63.6
2001 411 23.3 17.6 78.3
2002 393 28.0 14.0 80.7
2003 393 28.0 14.0 80.7
2004 359 29.0 12.4 79.9
2005 348 31.0 11.2 n/a
2006 356 30.0 11.9 74.7
2007 388 30.0 12.9 77.3
2008 401 34.0 11.8 76.6
2009 379 38.1 8.3 78.4
2010 398 25.0 15.9 81.2
2011 408 23.0 17.7 76
2012 393 34.2 11.4 82.2
2013 406 33.0 12.3 81
2014 398 32.0 12.4 77.4
2015 400 32.0 12.5 88.5
2016 409 31.0 13.1 86.8
2017 404 31.0 13.0 85.6
2018 427 33.0 12.9 79.4
2019 424 31.0 13.6 90.1
2020 438 31.0 14.1 60.7
2021 410 31.0 13.2 66.3
2022 377 30.0 12.5 66.3
2023 364 31.0 11.7 61.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Dr. Paul Rafalides School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 345 13.0 26.5 n/a
1989 358 16.0 22.3 n/a
1990 342 14.0 24.4 25.4
1991 360 19.0 18.9 33.1
1992 379 18.0 21.0 34.3
1993 416 20.0 20.8 40.9
1994 415 20.0 20.8 39.5
1995 568 32.0 17.8 64.4
1996 568 32.0 17.8 64.4
1998 413 20.0 20.7 62.5
1999 417 20.0 20.9 52.3
2000 398 23.0 17.3 63.6
2001 411 23.3 17.6 78.3
2002 393 28.0 14.0 80.7
2003 393 28.0 14.0 80.7
2004 359 29.0 12.4 79.9
2005 348 31.0 11.2 n/a
2006 356 30.0 11.9 74.7
2007 388 30.0 12.9 77.3
2008 401 34.0 11.8 76.6
2009 379 38.1 8.3 78.4
2010 398 25.0 15.9 81.2
2011 408 23.0 17.7 76
2012 393 34.2 11.4 82.2
2013 406 33.0 12.3 81
2014 398 32.0 12.4 77.4
2015 400 32.0 12.5 88.5
2016 409 31.0 13.1 86.8
2017 404 31.0 13.0 85.6
2018 427 33.0 12.9 79.4
2019 424 31.0 13.6 90.1
2020 438 31.0 14.1 60.7
2021 410 31.0 13.2 66.3
2022 377 30.0 12.5 66.3
2023 364 31.0 11.7 61.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Dr. Paul Rafalides School

Help

YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $468 (4.6%) $9,758 (95.4%) $10,226

Data source: New Jersey Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Dr. Paul Rafalides School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 674th of 1360 Elementary schoolsRanks 950th of 1342 Elementary schools
 21.2%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade English Language Arts (Dr. Paul Rafalides School)63.342.4
 20.9%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (Jersey City Public Schools)47.440.3
 7.1%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (New Jersey)50.242
 8.2%
3rd Grade Mathematics (Dr. Paul Rafalides School)5338.1
 14.9%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Jersey City Public Schools)46.936
 10.9%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (New Jersey)55.145.9
 9.2%
4th Grade English Language Arts (Dr. Paul Rafalides School)71.436.5
 34.9%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (Jersey City Public Schools)5543.1
 11.9%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (New Jersey)57.451.3
 6.1%
4th Grade Mathematics (Dr. Paul Rafalides School)35.115.4
 19.7%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Jersey City Public Schools)38.131.3
 6.8%
   4th Grade Mathematics (New Jersey)5144.3
 6.7%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students424364
 14.2%
African American11987
 26.9%
American Indian10
 100%
Asian8170
 13.6%
Hispanic128109
 14.8%
Pacific Islander16
 500%
White8680
 7%
Two or More Races812
 50%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients90.1%61.3%
 28.8%


Schools Near Dr. Paul Rafalides School









Frequently Asked Questions about Dr. Paul Rafalides School

Students who attend Dr. Paul Rafalides School usually go on to attend:

High : Lincoln High School

In the 2022-23 school year, 364 students attended Dr. Paul Rafalides School.

Dr. Paul Rafalides School ranks 950th of 1342 New Jersey elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Students at Dr. Paul Rafalides School are 30% Hispanic, 24% African American, 22% White, 19% Asian, 3% Two or more races, 2% Pacific Islander.


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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.





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