Bells Elementary School

Summary:

Bells Elementary School is a public elementary school serving 553 students in grades K-5 in the Washington Township School District in Turnersville, New Jersey. The school has a predominantly White student population, with smaller percentages of Hispanic, Asian, and African American students.

Bells Elementary School has had mixed academic performance compared to district and state averages. While the school's 5th-grade ELA proficiency rates have been consistently higher, its 3rd and 4th-grade ELA and math proficiency rates have been lower. The school's statewide ranking has declined over the years, from 446 out of 1367 New Jersey elementary schools in 2012-2013 to 741 out of 1342 in 2022-2023. Disparities in performance among student subgroups are also a concern, with White students performing in the bottom quarter of New Jersey elementary schools. Additionally, the school has seen a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, from 3.3% in 2016-2017 to 11.0% in 2021-2022.

Compared to other elementary schools in the Washington Township School District, Bells Elementary School's performance is mixed. While it outperforms some schools, such as Wedgwood Elementary, it lags behind higher-performing schools like Whitman Elementary and Hurffville Elementary. The school's relatively low percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch suggests a higher socioeconomic status, but this does not seem to translate into consistently stronger academic performance.


Detail:

Public K-5

 227 Greentree Rd
       Turnersville, NJ  08012


(856) 589-8441

District: Washington Township School District

SchoolDigger Rank:
741st of 1,342 New Jersey Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $10,606 Help


Students who attend Bells Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Orchard Valley Middle School
High:    Washington Township High School

Student/teacher ratio:  10.9 Help
Number of students:  553

Racial breakdown:

White:
76.5%
Hispanic:
9.9%
Two or more races:
5.4%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  15% Help


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 Compare Bells Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Bells Elementary School ranks worse than 55.2% of elementary schools in New Jersey. It also ranks 5th among 6 ranked elementary schools in the Washington Township School District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2023 the calculated Average Standard Score was 45.01. (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
Help
Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (76.5%), Hispanic (9.9%), two or more races (5.4%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 15% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the lowest percentage in the Washington Township School District. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Bells Elementary School is 10.9. 3 elementary schools in the Washington Township School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)
Help
Compare Bells Elementary School employs 50.4 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Bells Elementary School is $10,606. 3 elementary schools in the Washington Township School District spend more per student.
Schooldigger 2023 Rankings:

Bells Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Bells Elementary School 741st of 1342 New Jersey public elementary schools. (See Bells 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:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Washington Township School District:

SchoolDigger ranks Washington Township School District 327th of 615 New Jersey school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Bells Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Bells Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2003 74.35 368th 1204 69.4%
2004 62.25 623rd 1298 52.0%
2005 66.94 532nd 1303 59.2%
2006 65.22 588th 1314 55.3%
2007 74.38 320th 1329 75.9%
2008 73.36 383rd 1338 71.4%
2009 71.77 423rd 1346 68.6%
2010 67.09 527th 1354 61.1%
2011 78.65 262nd 1360 80.7%
2012 74.60 379th 1363 72.2%
2013 71.86 446th 1367 67.4%
2014 57.84 690th 1363 49.4%
2015 32.00 952nd 1357 29.8%
2016 46.07 772nd 1346 42.6%
2017 37.19 888th 1352 34.3%
2018 34.66 943rd 1353 30.3%
2019 39.45 869th 1360 36.1%
2021 51.65 575th 1317 56.3%
2022 48.66 684th 1345 49.1%
2023 45.01 741st 1342 44.8%
See the entire list of New Jersey Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Bells Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 37.16 569th 1001 43.2%
2019 45.42 482nd 1007 52.1%
2021 52.28 340th 868 60.8%
2022 54.22 356th 949 62.5%
2023 43.18 463rd 958 51.7%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

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

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 22.60 817th 942 13.3%
2019 45.07 480th 948 49.4%
2021 51.58 333rd 839 60.3%
2022 33.93 566th 863 34.4%
2023 53.25 357th 910 60.8%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Bells Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 33.33 941st 1333 29.4%
2019 35.38 902nd 1331 32.2%
2021 48.45 613th 1290 52.5%
2022 50.33 647th 1326 51.2%
2023 40.03 769th 1318 41.7%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Male students at Bells Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 37.20 867th 1334 35.0%
2019 44.89 761st 1335 43.0%
2021 55.06 504th 1297 61.1%
2022 47.64 674th 1324 49.1%
2023 50.22 643rd 1315 51.1%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Bells Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 41.22 520th 953 45.4%
2023 72.24 215th 982 78.1%
See the entire list of Best New Jersey Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Bells Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NJ State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 19.29 882nd 1022 13.7%
2019 23.22 829th 1023 19.0%
2021 38.19 609th 964 36.8%
2022 31.84 704th 976 27.9%
2023 27.86 737th 975 24.4%
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.

Bells 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 Bells Elementary School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 558 8 13 1 0 n/a n/a 0 580
1989 592 16 44 5 1 n/a n/a 0 658
1990 432 5 30 6 1 n/a n/a 0 474
1991 595 13 29 26 0 n/a n/a 0 663
1992 455 7 24 11 0 n/a n/a 0 497
1993 488 16 27 5 0 n/a n/a 0 536
1994 501 14 35 6 0 n/a n/a 0 556
1995 563 9 21 6 0 n/a n/a 0 599
1996 563 9 21 6 0 n/a n/a 0 599
1998 517 6 26 6 0 n/a n/a 0 555
1999 479 8 22 3 0 n/a n/a 0 512
2000 503 35 28 8 0 n/a n/a 0 574
2001 524 37 28 7 0 n/a n/a 0 596
2002 542 53 22 13 0 n/a n/a 0 630
2003 542 53 22 13 0 n/a n/a 0 630
2004 541 52 40 14 0 n/a n/a 0 647
2005 532 43 44 14 0 n/a n/a 0 633
2006 510 39 36 18 0 n/a n/a 0 603
2007 478 37 44 21 0 n/a n/a 0 580
2008 477 38 44 14 0 n/a n/a 0 573
2009 475 33 44 15 0 1 0 0 568
2010 468 36 50 13 0 0 0 0 567
2011 326 20 28 14 0 0 9 0 397
2012 458 41 32 18 0 0 14 0 563
2013 450 44 27 15 0 0 19 0 555
2014 427 40 21 21 0 0 17 0 526
2015 409 34 15 22 0 0 17 0 497
2016 385 32 13 23 0 0 22 0 475
2017 391 7 12 25 0 0 11 0 446
2018 377 6 10 28 0 0 8 0 429
2019 316 7 14 24 0 0 6 0 367
2020 373 11 22 32 0 0 7 0 445
2021 420 11 22 47 0 0 10 0 510
2022 421 17 28 59 0 0 21 0 546
2023 423 16 28 55 0 1 30 0 553

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 Bells Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 580 29.0 20.0 n/a
1989 658 31.0 21.2 n/a
1990 474 31.0 15.2 1.7
1991 663 29.0 22.8 0.9
1992 497 27.0 18.4 3.2
1993 536 28.3 18.9 3.9
1994 556 29.8 18.7 5.2
1995 599 31.8 18.8 4.2
1996 599 31.8 18.8 4.2
1998 555 39.3 14.1 6.3
1999 512 38.3 13.4 4.7
2000 574 38.3 15.0 14.5
2001 596 38.7 15.4 11.6
2002 630 41.3 15.3 11.6
2003 630 41.3 15.3 11.6
2004 647 43.3 14.9 11.7
2005 633 44.3 14.3 n/a
2006 603 43.8 13.8 8.5
2007 580 43.8 13.2 11.6
2008 573 35.0 16.4 11.9
2009 568 52.3 9.1 13
2010 567 39.0 14.5 17.3
2011 397 36.1 10.9 17.4
2012 563 44.5 12.6 23.6
2013 555 46.1 12.0 21.1
2014 526 48.4 10.8 22.6
2015 497 44.0 11.2 21.7
2016 475 51.0 9.3 26.1
2017 446 45.1 9.8 18.6
2018 429 43.3 9.8 17
2019 367 42.1 8.7 16.6
2020 445 43.4 10.2 18.4
2021 510 47.4 10.7 17.8
2022 546 49.5 11.0 13
2023 553 50.4 10.9 15

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 Bells Elementary School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 580 29.0 20.0 n/a
1989 658 31.0 21.2 n/a
1990 474 31.0 15.2 1.7
1991 663 29.0 22.8 0.9
1992 497 27.0 18.4 3.2
1993 536 28.3 18.9 3.9
1994 556 29.8 18.7 5.2
1995 599 31.8 18.8 4.2
1996 599 31.8 18.8 4.2
1998 555 39.3 14.1 6.3
1999 512 38.3 13.4 4.7
2000 574 38.3 15.0 14.5
2001 596 38.7 15.4 11.6
2002 630 41.3 15.3 11.6
2003 630 41.3 15.3 11.6
2004 647 43.3 14.9 11.7
2005 633 44.3 14.3 n/a
2006 603 43.8 13.8 8.5
2007 580 43.8 13.2 11.6
2008 573 35.0 16.4 11.9
2009 568 52.3 9.1 13
2010 567 39.0 14.5 17.3
2011 397 36.1 10.9 17.4
2012 563 44.5 12.6 23.6
2013 555 46.1 12.0 21.1
2014 526 48.4 10.8 22.6
2015 497 44.0 11.2 21.7
2016 475 51.0 9.3 26.1
2017 446 45.1 9.8 18.6
2018 429 43.3 9.8 17
2019 367 42.1 8.7 16.6
2020 445 43.4 10.2 18.4
2021 510 47.4 10.7 17.8
2022 546 49.5 11.0 13
2023 553 50.4 10.9 15

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 Bells Elementary School

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $198 (1.9%) $10,408 (98.1%) $10,606

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

Impact of COVID-19 on Bells 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 869th of 1360 Elementary schoolsRanks 741st of 1342 Elementary schools
 8.7%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade English Language Arts (Bells Elementary School)5026.3
 23.7%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (Washington Township School District)45.940.9
 5%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (New Jersey)50.242
 8.2%
3rd Grade Mathematics (Bells Elementary School)46.251.6
 5.4%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Washington Township School District)56.260
 3.8%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (New Jersey)55.145.9
 9.2%
4th Grade English Language Arts (Bells Elementary School)31.739.3
 7.6%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (Washington Township School District)50.454.5
 4.1%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (New Jersey)57.451.3
 6.1%
4th Grade Mathematics (Bells Elementary School)43.929.8
 14.1%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Washington Township School District)52.549
 3.5%
   4th Grade Mathematics (New Jersey)5144.3
 6.7%
5th Grade English Language Arts (Bells Elementary School)55.869.1
 13.3%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (Washington Township School District)57.362
 4.7%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (New Jersey)57.953.2
 4.7%
5th Grade Mathematics (Bells Elementary School)50.529.2
 21.3%
   5th Grade Mathematics (Washington Township School District)5439.1
 14.9%
   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 Students367553
 50.7%
African American716
 128.6%
American Indian00
Asian1428
 100%
Hispanic2455
 129.2%
Pacific Islander01
White316423
 33.9%
Two or More Races630
 400%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients16.6%15%
 1.6%


Schools Near Bells Elementary School









Frequently Asked Questions about Bells Elementary School

Students at Bells Elementary School are 76% White, 10% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races, 5% Asian, 3% African American.

Bells Elementary School ranks 741st of 1342 New Jersey elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

In the 2022-23 school year, 553 students attended Bells Elementary School.

Students who attend Bells Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Orchard Valley Middle School
High : Washington Township High School


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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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