Jefferson Elementary School

Summary:

Jefferson Elementary School is a public elementary school in Plainfield, New Jersey, serving 441 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Plainfield Public School District, which is ranked 564 out of 615 districts in the state and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Jefferson Elementary School faces significant challenges, with consistently low academic performance, high chronic absenteeism, and wide achievement gaps among student subgroups. The school's performance on state assessments (NJSLA) is well below state and district averages, with only 24.4% of 3rd-grade students proficient or better in English Language Arts, 12.3% in 3rd-grade Math, and 0% of 5th-grade students proficient or better in Science. Chronic absenteeism has also increased from 6.3% in 2017-2018 to 22.4% in 2021-2022, far exceeding state and district averages. The school's performance varies greatly across student subgroups, with African American students performing better than Hispanic students, and students with disabilities, English Language Learners, and those from low socioeconomic backgrounds struggling the most.

While the school's demographics and economic disadvantages likely contribute to these challenges, nearby schools like Cresthaven Academy Charter School and Irene E. Feldkirchner Elementary School demonstrate higher academic performance and lower chronic absenteeism rates, suggesting that factors beyond just student demographics may play a role in school success. Additionally, Jefferson Elementary School's spending per student ($10,400 in 2018-2019) is lower than the state average and some higher-performing schools, despite having a relatively low student-teacher ratio of 12.7 in 2022-2023.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

 1700 W. Front St
       Plainfield, NJ  07063


(908) 731-4250

District: Plainfield Public School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
1239th of 1,342 New Jersey Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $10,400 Help


Students who attend Jefferson Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Hubbard Middle School
High:    Plainfield Academy For The Arts & Advanced Studies
    Plainfield High School

Student/teacher ratio:  12.7 Help
Number of students:  441

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
86.2%
African American:
11.8%
Asian:
1.1%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  86.2% Help


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Performance Trends
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Compare Details Jefferson Elementary School ranks worse than 92.3% of elementary schools in New Jersey. It also ranks 4th among 9 ranked elementary schools in the Plainfield Public School District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2023 the calculated Average Standard Score was 10.42. (See more...)
Help
Chronic absenteeism in a 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: Hispanic (86.2%), African American (11.8%), Asian (1.1%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 86.2% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Jefferson Elementary School is 12.7, which is the 3rd best among 9 elementary schools in the Plainfield Public School District. (See more...)
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Compare Jefferson Elementary School employs 34.5 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Jefferson Elementary School is $10,400, which is the 4th highest among 9 elementary schools in the Plainfield Public School District.
Schooldigger 2023 Rankings:

Jefferson Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Jefferson Elementary School 1239th of 1342 New Jersey public elementary schools. (See Jefferson Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


English Language Learner students:
Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:


Plainfield Public School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Plainfield Public School District 564th of 615 New Jersey school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Jefferson Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Jefferson Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2003 7.12 1086th 1204 9.8%
2004 13.17 1145th 1298 11.8%
2005 6.95 1215th 1303 6.8%
2006 1.82 1271st 1314 3.3%
2007 6.59 1242nd 1329 6.5%
2008 3.81 1287th 1338 3.8%
2009 10.95 1215th 1346 9.7%
2010 4.99 1283rd 1354 5.2%
2011 7.10 1270th 1360 6.6%
2012 3.59 1312th 1363 3.7%
2013 6.35 1274th 1367 6.8%
2014 6.50 1279th 1363 6.2%
2015 11.15 1229th 1357 9.4%
2016 7.50 1258th 1346 6.5%
2017 10.31 1221st 1352 9.7%
2018 6.50 1287th 1353 4.9%
2019 4.96 1308th 1360 3.8%
2022 8.61 1270th 1345 5.6%
2023 10.42 1239th 1342 7.7%
See the entire list of New Jersey Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Jefferson Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 17.03 383rd 434 11.8%
2019 13.82 429th 463 7.3%
2022 20.76 434th 489 11.2%
2023 22.27 425th 499 14.8%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Jefferson Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 15.45 876th 1001 12.5%
2019 15.54 880th 1007 12.6%
2022 12.90 908th 949 4.3%
2023 21.63 743rd 958 22.4%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

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

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 16.06 869th 942 7.7%
2019 13.23 794th 948 16.2%
2022 23.61 674th 863 21.9%
2023 30.95 634th 910 30.3%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Jefferson Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 5.73 1270th 1333 4.7%
2019 6.23 1259th 1331 5.4%
2022 9.48 1222nd 1326 7.8%
2023 14.41 1132nd 1318 14.1%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Jefferson Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 10.05 1210th 1334 9.3%
2019 5.50 1273rd 1335 4.6%
2022 10.01 1210th 1324 8.6%
2023 10.09 1197th 1315 9.0%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Jefferson Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 11.53 457th 517 11.6%
2019 10.26 513th 522 1.7%
2022 79.49 71st 494 85.6%
2023 39.04 284th 463 38.7%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Jefferson Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 15.88 748th 870 14.0%
2019 13.13 782nd 899 13.0%
2022 14.47 843rd 953 11.5%
2023 16.97 852nd 982 13.2%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Hispanic 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.

Jefferson 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 Jefferson Elementary School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 12 405 5 46 0 n/a n/a 0 468
1989 6 425 7 47 0 n/a n/a 0 485
1990 5 367 4 50 0 n/a n/a 0 426
1991 2 369 3 56 0 n/a n/a 0 430
1992 6 334 3 61 0 n/a n/a 0 404
1993 4 344 1 58 0 n/a n/a 0 407
1994 5 329 5 75 0 n/a n/a 0 414
1995 2 333 4 133 0 n/a n/a 0 472
1996 2 333 4 133 0 n/a n/a 0 472
1998 4 321 6 192 0 n/a n/a 0 523
1999 5 294 5 179 0 n/a n/a 0 483
2000 7 262 3 183 0 n/a n/a 0 455
2001 4 232 3 169 0 n/a n/a 0 408
2002 2 266 4 160 0 n/a n/a 0 432
2003 2 266 4 160 0 n/a n/a 0 432
2004 3 258 3 174 0 n/a n/a 0 438
2005 0 222 0 178 0 n/a n/a 0 400
2006 0 185 0 219 0 n/a n/a 0 404
2007 1 148 2 227 0 n/a n/a 0 378
2008 1 116 0 210 0 n/a n/a 0 327
2009 0 90 0 196 1 0 0 0 287
2010 0 103 0 249 0 0 0 0 352
2011 0 113 0 282 0 0 0 0 395
2012 0 117 0 297 0 0 0 0 414
2013 1 93 0 307 0 0 1 0 402
2014 3 104 0 319 0 2 1 0 429
2015 4 106 1 336 0 1 5 0 453
2016 6 102 1 323 0 1 3 0 436
2017 5 78 0 333 0 0 2 0 418
2018 5 65 0 350 0 0 1 0 421
2019 2 63 1 353 0 0 0 0 419
2020 2 55 3 394 0 1 1 0 456
2021 3 59 8 446 0 1 1 0 518
2022 2 49 7 396 0 1 1 0 456
2023 2 52 5 380 0 1 1 0 441

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 Jefferson Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 468 23.0 20.3 n/a
1989 485 29.0 16.7 n/a
1990 426 30.0 14.2 47.9
1991 430 26.0 16.5 49.3
1992 404 26.0 15.5 62.9
1993 407 26.0 15.7 61.7
1994 414 26.0 15.9 63.3
1995 472 29.0 16.3 83.5
1996 472 29.0 16.3 83.5
1998 523 35.0 14.9 75.1
1999 483 35.0 13.8 75.8
2000 455 34.0 13.4 83.1
2001 408 34.3 11.9 89
2002 432 44.0 9.8 80.8
2003 432 44.0 9.8 80.8
2004 438 38.0 11.5 85.8
2005 400 38.0 10.5 n/a
2006 404 35.0 11.5 90.3
2007 378 36.0 10.5 91
2008 327 30.0 10.9 89.3
2009 287 29.5 8.4 70.4
2010 352 25.0 14.0 84.4
2011 395 26.0 15.1 90.4
2012 414 29.2 14.1 84.1
2013 402 32.0 12.5 89.3
2014 429 33.0 13.0 92.3
2015 453 34.0 13.3 91.6
2016 436 34.0 12.8 88.3
2017 418 36.0 11.6 89
2018 421 34.5 12.2 89.3
2019 419 36.0 11.6 90.2
2020 456 34.0 13.4 86.8
2021 518 34.5 15.0 76.8
2022 456 33.0 13.8 86
2023 441 34.5 12.7 86.2

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 Jefferson Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 468 23.0 20.3 n/a
1989 485 29.0 16.7 n/a
1990 426 30.0 14.2 47.9
1991 430 26.0 16.5 49.3
1992 404 26.0 15.5 62.9
1993 407 26.0 15.7 61.7
1994 414 26.0 15.9 63.3
1995 472 29.0 16.3 83.5
1996 472 29.0 16.3 83.5
1998 523 35.0 14.9 75.1
1999 483 35.0 13.8 75.8
2000 455 34.0 13.4 83.1
2001 408 34.3 11.9 89
2002 432 44.0 9.8 80.8
2003 432 44.0 9.8 80.8
2004 438 38.0 11.5 85.8
2005 400 38.0 10.5 n/a
2006 404 35.0 11.5 90.3
2007 378 36.0 10.5 91
2008 327 30.0 10.9 89.3
2009 287 29.5 8.4 70.4
2010 352 25.0 14.0 84.4
2011 395 26.0 15.1 90.4
2012 414 29.2 14.1 84.1
2013 402 32.0 12.5 89.3
2014 429 33.0 13.0 92.3
2015 453 34.0 13.3 91.6
2016 436 34.0 12.8 88.3
2017 418 36.0 11.6 89
2018 421 34.5 12.2 89.3
2019 419 36.0 11.6 90.2
2020 456 34.0 13.4 86.8
2021 518 34.5 15.0 76.8
2022 456 33.0 13.8 86
2023 441 34.5 12.7 86.2

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 Jefferson Elementary School

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $232 (2.2%) $10,168 (97.8%) $10,400

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

Impact of COVID-19 on Jefferson 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 1308th of 1360 Elementary schoolsRanks 1239th of 1342 Elementary schools
 3.9%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade English Language Arts (Jefferson Elementary School)17.624.4
 6.8%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (Plainfield Public School District)21.417.4
 4%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (New Jersey)50.242
 8.2%
3rd Grade Mathematics (Jefferson Elementary School)2012.3
 7.7%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Plainfield Public School District)26.322.2
 4.1%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (New Jersey)55.145.9
 9.2%
4th Grade English Language Arts (Jefferson Elementary School)821
 13%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (Plainfield Public School District)25.720.1
 5.6%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (New Jersey)57.451.3
 6.1%
4th Grade Mathematics (Jefferson Elementary School)7.719.7
 12%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Plainfield Public School District)18.619.4
 0.8%
   4th Grade Mathematics (New Jersey)5144.3
 6.7%
5th Grade English Language Arts (Jefferson Elementary School)24.28.3
 15.9%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (Plainfield Public School District)25.219.7
 5.5%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (New Jersey)57.953.2
 4.7%
5th Grade Mathematics (Jefferson Elementary School)19.79.5
 10.2%
   5th Grade Mathematics (Plainfield Public School District)17.111.8
 5.3%
   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 Students419441
 5.3%
African American6352
 17.5%
American Indian00
Asian15
 400%
Hispanic353380
 7.6%
Pacific Islander01
White22
Two or More Races01
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients90.2%86.2%
 4%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Jefferson Elementary School

Students at Jefferson Elementary School are 86% Hispanic, 12% African American, 1% Asian.

In the 2022-23 school year, 441 students attended Jefferson Elementary School.

Jefferson Elementary School ranks in the bottom 7.7% of New Jersey elementary schools.


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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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