Watchung Elementary School

Summary:

Watchung Elementary School is a public elementary school in Montclair, New Jersey, serving 394 students from kindergarten to 5th grade. The school is part of the Montclair Public School District, which is ranked 148 out of 615 districts in the state and has a 4-star rating.

Watchung Elementary School consistently performs above the state average in standardized test scores for English Language Arts and Mathematics, with proficiency rates significantly higher than the state averages. The school has maintained a strong statewide ranking, consistently placing in the top 20% of New Jersey elementary schools and earning a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger. Watchung's Hispanic and White students have consistently ranked in the top 10% and top 20% of New Jersey elementary schools, respectively, in ELA and Mathematics proficiency.

While Watchung Elementary School has a relatively low percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, the school's ranking for this subgroup is in the bottom 30% of New Jersey elementary schools, suggesting the need for additional support and resources to ensure equitable outcomes. When compared to nearby schools in the Montclair Public School District, such as Laning Avenue School and South End Elementary School, Watchung generally outperforms its peers in academic achievement, though it has a slightly higher student-teacher ratio.


Detail:

Public K-5

 14 Garden St
       Montclair, NJ  07042-4116


(973) 509-4259

District: Montclair Public School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
283rd of 1,342 New Jersey Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $11,719 Help


Students who attend Watchung Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Buzz Aldrin Middle School
    Glenfield Middle School
    Renaissance Middle School at the Rand Building
High:    Montclair High School

Student/teacher ratio:  11.9 Help
Number of students:  394

Racial breakdown:

White:
55.3%
Hispanic:
14.7%
African American:
10.9%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  9.9% Help


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Performance Trends
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Compare Details Watchung Elementary School ranks better than 78.9% of elementary schools in New Jersey. It also ranks 5th among 6 ranked elementary schools in the Montclair Public School District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2023 the calculated Average Standard Score was 78.9. (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 Racial makeup is: White (55.3%), Hispanic (14.7%), African American (10.9%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 9.9% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Watchung Elementary School is 11.9, which is the highest among 7 elementary schools in the Montclair Public School District! (See more...)
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Compare Watchung Elementary School employs 33 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Watchung Elementary School is $11,719, which is the lowest among 7 elementary schools in the Montclair Public School District!
Schooldigger 2023 Rankings:

Watchung Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Watchung Elementary School 283rd of 1342 New Jersey public elementary schools. (See Watchung Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Montclair Public School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Montclair Public School District 148th of 615 New Jersey school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Watchung Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Watchung Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2003 77.54 285th 1204 76.3%
2004 80.99 153rd 1298 88.2%
2005 80.92 151st 1303 88.4%
2006 83.00 70th 1314 94.7%
2007 82.50 62nd 1329 95.3%
2008 86.99 10th 1338 99.3%
2009 87.94 37th 1346 97.3%
2010 87.81 22nd 1354 98.4%
2011 87.65 27th 1360 98.0%
2012 86.27 45th 1363 96.7%
2013 83.10 145th 1367 89.4%
2014 83.58 155th 1363 88.6%
2015 92.57 61st 1357 95.5%
2016 86.85 147th 1346 89.1%
2017 83.72 200th 1352 85.2%
2018 87.38 135th 1353 90.0%
2019 81.50 244th 1360 82.1%
2021 78.76 244th 1317 81.5%
2022 85.62 197th 1345 85.4%
2023 78.90 283rd 1342 78.9%
See the entire list of New Jersey Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Watchung Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 64.84 291st 1001 70.9%
2019 61.25 328th 1007 67.4%
2021 78.95 119th 868 86.3%
2022 73.11 188th 949 80.2%
2023 54.55 349th 958 63.6%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Watchung Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 29.45 651st 910 28.5%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Watchung Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 85.03 153rd 1333 88.5%
2019 88.84 79th 1331 94.1%
2021 76.21 247th 1290 80.9%
2022 86.14 166th 1326 87.5%
2023 81.38 238th 1318 81.9%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Watchung Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 87.99 122nd 1334 90.9%
2019 72.65 375th 1335 71.9%
2021 78.16 240th 1297 81.5%
2022 83.18 219th 1324 83.5%
2023 74.46 333rd 1315 74.7%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Watchung Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 96.06 11th 517 97.9%
2019 90.98 33rd 522 93.7%
2021 61.64 115th 456 74.8%
2022 78.25 78th 494 84.2%
2023 63.96 135th 463 70.8%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Watchung Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 95.68 23rd 870 97.4%
2019 95.96 16th 899 98.2%
2022 96.57 31st 953 96.7%
2023 91.86 62nd 982 93.7%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Watchung Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 89.39 45th 1022 95.6%
2019 83.10 112th 1023 89.1%
2021 84.70 89th 964 90.8%
2022 86.69 80th 976 91.8%
2023 77.22 176th 975 81.9%
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.

Watchung Elementary 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 Watchung Elementary School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 185 154 5 7 2 n/a n/a 0 353
1989 194 161 6 8 2 n/a n/a 0 371
1990 255 165 9 10 2 n/a n/a 0 441
1991 240 175 11 5 2 n/a n/a 0 433
1992 227 192 16 8 2 n/a n/a 0 445
1993 241 175 20 14 0 n/a n/a 0 450
1994 247 170 24 16 0 n/a n/a 0 457
1995 254 179 29 22 2 n/a n/a 0 486
1996 254 179 29 22 2 n/a n/a 0 486
1998 235 190 25 27 2 n/a n/a 0 479
1999 249 185 22 30 1 n/a n/a 0 487
2000 252 179 18 20 0 n/a n/a 0 469
2001 244 151 23 21 2 n/a n/a 0 441
2002 244 127 34 19 1 n/a n/a 0 425
2003 244 127 34 19 1 n/a n/a 0 425
2004 241 126 37 18 0 n/a n/a 0 422
2005 245 123 40 20 0 n/a n/a 0 428
2006 247 113 41 23 1 n/a n/a 0 425
2007 255 89 42 32 0 n/a n/a 0 418
2008 268 83 45 36 0 n/a n/a 0 432
2009 278 90 46 26 0 0 0 0 440
2010 290 109 42 25 0 0 0 0 466
2011 264 100 37 34 1 1 9 0 446
2012 262 105 35 46 1 1 6 0 456
2013 249 104 44 48 1 1 5 0 452
2014 251 99 35 48 1 0 18 0 452
2015 253 86 35 48 1 0 17 0 440
2016 239 95 26 55 3 0 21 0 439
2017 244 81 32 52 2 1 20 0 432
2018 240 70 35 51 2 1 27 0 426
2019 232 68 31 58 1 2 33 0 425
2020 226 65 36 50 0 2 36 0 415
2021 219 51 37 52 0 2 39 0 400
2022 211 44 39 57 0 2 32 0 385
2023 218 43 32 58 0 1 42 0 394

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 Watchung Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 353 18.0 19.6 n/a
1989 371 19.0 19.5 n/a
1990 441 22.0 20.0 11.8
1991 433 23.0 18.8 11.5
1992 445 22.0 20.2 14.4
1993 450 22.0 20.5 12
1994 457 24.0 19.0 9.6
1995 486 26.0 18.7 13.4
1996 486 26.0 18.7 13.4
1998 479 23.0 20.8 16.9
1999 487 26.0 18.7 17
2000 469 28.3 16.6 17.5
2001 441 28.6 15.4 15.9
2002 425 24.9 17.1 12
2003 425 24.9 17.1 12
2004 422 31.4 13.4 10.9
2005 428 32.4 13.2 n/a
2006 425 31.4 13.5 10.4
2007 418 30.0 13.9 10
2008 432 24.0 18.0 6.7
2009 440 30.8 10.0 9.5
2010 466 28.0 16.6 7.7
2011 446 26.0 17.1 0
2012 456 n/a n/a 1.3
2013 452 27.0 16.7 10.8
2014 452 28.0 16.1 11.1
2015 440 32.0 13.7 8.4
2016 439 33.0 13.3 10.3
2017 432 29.0 14.8 4.4
2018 426 33.0 12.9 8
2019 425 34.0 12.5 10.4
2020 415 34.0 12.2 9.4
2021 400 34.0 11.7 10.3
2022 385 33.0 11.6 10.4
2023 394 33.0 11.9 9.9

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 Watchung Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 353 18.0 19.6 n/a
1989 371 19.0 19.5 n/a
1990 441 22.0 20.0 11.8
1991 433 23.0 18.8 11.5
1992 445 22.0 20.2 14.4
1993 450 22.0 20.5 12
1994 457 24.0 19.0 9.6
1995 486 26.0 18.7 13.4
1996 486 26.0 18.7 13.4
1998 479 23.0 20.8 16.9
1999 487 26.0 18.7 17
2000 469 28.3 16.6 17.5
2001 441 28.6 15.4 15.9
2002 425 24.9 17.1 12
2003 425 24.9 17.1 12
2004 422 31.4 13.4 10.9
2005 428 32.4 13.2 n/a
2006 425 31.4 13.5 10.4
2007 418 30.0 13.9 10
2008 432 24.0 18.0 6.7
2009 440 30.8 10.0 9.5
2010 466 28.0 16.6 7.7
2011 446 26.0 17.1 0
2012 456 n/a n/a 1.3
2013 452 27.0 16.7 10.8
2014 452 28.0 16.1 11.1
2015 440 32.0 13.7 8.4
2016 439 33.0 13.3 10.3
2017 432 29.0 14.8 4.4
2018 426 33.0 12.9 8
2019 425 34.0 12.5 10.4
2020 415 34.0 12.2 9.4
2021 400 34.0 11.7 10.3
2022 385 33.0 11.6 10.4
2023 394 33.0 11.9 9.9

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 Watchung Elementary School

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $53 (0.5%) $11,666 (99.5%) $11,719

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

Impact of COVID-19 on Watchung Elementary 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 244th of 1360 Elementary schoolsRanks 283rd of 1342 Elementary schools
 3.1%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade English Language Arts (Watchung Elementary School)7156.4
 14.6%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (Montclair Public School District)63.162
 1.1%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (New Jersey)50.242
 8.2%
3rd Grade Mathematics (Watchung Elementary School)79.763.4
 16.3%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Montclair Public School District)68.964
 4.9%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (New Jersey)55.145.9
 9.2%
4th Grade English Language Arts (Watchung Elementary School)78.877.2
 1.6%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (Montclair Public School District)68.672
 3.4%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (New Jersey)57.451.3
 6.1%
4th Grade Mathematics (Watchung Elementary School)75.762.1
 13.6%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Montclair Public School District)64.363.3
 1%
   4th Grade Mathematics (New Jersey)5144.3
 6.7%
5th Grade English Language Arts (Watchung Elementary School)64.364.7
 0.4%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (Montclair Public School District)70.478.9
 8.5%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (New Jersey)57.953.2
 4.7%
5th Grade Mathematics (Watchung Elementary School)7064.7
 5.3%
   5th Grade Mathematics (Montclair Public School District)60.262.9
 2.7%
   5th Grade Mathematics (New Jersey)46.840.1
 6.7%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students425394
 7.3%
African American6843
 36.8%
American Indian10
 100%
Asian3132
 3.2%
Hispanic5858
Pacific Islander21
 50%
White232218
 6%
Two or More Races3342
 27.3%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients10.4%9.9%
 0.5%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Watchung Elementary School

Watchung Elementary School ranks 283rd of 1342 New Jersey elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

In the 2022-23 school year, 394 students attended Watchung Elementary School.

Students at Watchung Elementary School are 55% White, 15% Hispanic, 11% African American, 11% Two or more races, 8% Asian.


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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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