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John L. Costley Middle School

Public Grades 6-8

718^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 752 New Jersey Middle Schools

Better than 5% of New Jersey middle schools

Summary

John L. Costley Middle School is a public middle school located in East Orange, New Jersey, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 320 students. The school is part of the East Orange School District, which is ranked 509 out of 609 districts in New Jersey and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

John L. Costley Middle School consistently performs below the state and district averages in standardized test scores, with only 8.5% of 7th-grade students proficient or better in NJSLA/English Language Arts, compared to 32.6% in the district and 57% statewide. Similarly, in NJSLA/Mathematics, only 4.1% of 7th-grade students were proficient or better, compared to 12.6% in the district and 38.8% statewide. The school also has consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 14.9% to 32.0% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the state average.

When comparing John L. Costley Middle School to nearby schools in the East Orange School District, such as Sojourner Truth Middle School and Patrick F. Healy Middle School, the performance is relatively similar, with all three schools struggling with low academic achievement and high chronic absenteeism. However, when compared to higher-performing schools in other districts, such as Roosevelt Middle School in West Orange or Glenfield Middle School in Montclair, the performance gap is significant.

334

Students ?

13.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$14,015

Per pupil spending ?

9.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

116 Hamilton St
East Orange, NJ 07017-2912

(973) 266-5660

District: East Orange School District

Students who attend John L. Costley Middle School usually attend:

High:	East Orange Campus High School
	East Orange STEM Academy High School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

70.4%

Hispanic:

22.8%

White:

4.5%

See top rated New Jersey middle schools

Compare John L. Costley Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 8th percentile in 2022 → 5th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the New Jersey average (21% vs 40% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (5th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (28% vs 15% New Jersey)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school21%

District avg18%

New Jersey avg40%

718^th of 752

New Jersey public middle schools ?

Bottom 5%▼ down 4 pts since 2022

From bottom 8% (2022) to bottom 5% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of New Jersey Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 2Middle Schools in the East Orange School District

509^th of 609East Orange School District among New Jersey districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	9.4	718 of 752	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.1	704 of 743	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	9.6	709 of 748	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	12.5	683 of 745	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	19.2	306 of 359	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.2	303 of 352	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.2	327 of 361	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	22.6	311 of 356	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2024	25.7	273 of 320	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	31.5	193 of 270	28.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	10.4	680 of 728	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.1	665 of 717	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	10.7	675 of 720	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.8	644 of 726	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	16.1	545 of 608	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.0	535 of 589	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.0	532 of 587	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	18.5	550 of 613	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	13.8	515 of 584	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	13.0	498 of 568	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	16.1	469 of 549	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	9.1	702 of 726	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.8	686 of 719	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.2	701 of 718	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.8	682 of 730	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	21.3	454 of 507	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.5	482 of 510	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	23.7	450 of 535	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

African American (2025)15th percentile+10 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)15th percentile+9 vs school

Special Education (2025)10th percentile+6 vs school

Hispanic (2025)10th percentile+6 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)10th percentile+6 vs school

Female (2025)7th percentile~ school

Male (2025)3rd percentile~ school

By subject vs New Jersey (2024-2025) ?

Science90%+71 vs state

English Language Arts11%-46 vs state

Mathematics7%-24 vs state

5.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a student
Tuesday, January 29, 2013

This schools gives a great education and helps me pass test and understand the subject clearly. Close Quote

Schools Near John L. Costley Middle School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				NJSLA-S Science (2025)		NJSLA English Language Arts (2025)						NJSLA Mathematics (2025)						NJSLA Algebra I (2025)			NJSLA Geometry (2025)		NJSLA Algebra II (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	NJSLA-S Science 5th Grade	NJSLA-S Science 8th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 3rd Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 4th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 5th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 6th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 7th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 8th Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 3rd Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 4th Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 5th Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 6th Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 7th Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 8th Grade	NJSLA Algebra I 7th Grade	NJSLA Algebra I 8th Grade	NJSLA Algebra I End of Course	NJSLA Geometry 8th Grade	NJSLA Geometry End of Course	NJSLA Algebra II 8th Grade	NJSLA Algebra II End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
John L. Costley Middle School	Public	6-8	116 Hamilton St	East Orange	07017	Essex County	East Orange School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 266-5660	334	25	13.4	9.9%	15 (4.5%)	235 (70.4%)	76 (22.8%)	3 (0.9%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	2 (0.6%)	9.4	718^th of 752 public middle schools	4.5%		10.1	704^th of 743 public middle schools	5.2%	14		0.9					8.5	16.7					4.1	12.3								$14,015	$675	$13,340
Sojourner Truth Middle School	Public	6-8	116 Hamilton St	East Orange	07017	Essex County	East Orange School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 266-5665	264	20	13.4	27.3%	12 (4.5%)	194 (73.5%)	53 (20.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.8%)	1 (0.4%)	2 (0.8%)								(n/a)						18.6						4.4										$12,234	$381	$11,853
Patrick F. Healy Middle School	Public	6-8	116 Hamilton St	East Orange	07017	Essex County	East Orange School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 266-5670	322	21	15.7	14.0%	20 (6.2%)	231 (71.7%)	67 (20.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	3 (0.9%)	11.1	693^rd of 752 public middle schools	7.8%		9.6	708^th of 743 public middle schools	4.7%	15		1.3					18.4	10.2					9.1	6.1								$11,816	$431	$11,385
Rosa Parks Community School	Public	3-7	369 Main Street	Orange	07050	Essex County	ORANGE BOARD OF EDUCATION School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 677-4515	593	52	11.3	84.1%	2 (0.3%)	178 (30.0%)	402 (67.8%)	4 (0.7%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.7%)	39.5	444^th of 752 public middle schools	41.0%		27.9	525^th of 743 public middle schools	29.3%	81	17.8		28.6	34.3	46.0	49.5	48.2		22.3	29.8	36.3	26.8	35.9									$8,884	$492	$8,392
Pride Academy Charter School	Public, Charter	5-8	117 Elmwood Ave	East Orange	07018	Essex County	Pride Academy Charter School District	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 672-3200	300	19	16.0	78.3%	1 (0.3%)	281 (93.7%)	18 (6.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	51.5	341^st of 752 public middle schools	54.7%		60.3	273^rd of 743 public middle schools	63.3%	68	13.3	12.0			40.0	46.7	58.7	68.0			28.0	25.4	54.7	24.0								$7,531	$934	$6,597
Orange Preparatory Academy School of Inquiry and Innovation	Public	8	400 Central Ave	Orange	07050	Essex County	ORANGE BOARD OF EDUCATION School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 677-4135	397	48	8.2	65.7%	1 (0.3%)	187 (47.1%)	207 (52.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26.8	541^st of 752 public middle schools	28.1%		29.7	512^th of 743 public middle schools	31.1%	29		4.9						45.1						12.3		96.6	96.6					$12,917	$383	$12,534
Edison Middle School	Public	6	75 William St	West Orange	07052	Essex County	West Orange Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	No	(973) 669-5360	477	53	8.9	42.6%	94 (19.7%)	137 (28.7%)	195 (40.9%)	12 (2.5%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	36 (7.5%)								(n/a)						64.9						48.4										$11,329		$11,329
Glenfield Middle School	Public	6-8	25 Maple Ave	Montclair	07042	Essex County	Montclair Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 509-4172	512	59	8.7	19.9%	238 (46.5%)	106 (20.7%)	77 (15.0%)	21 (4.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	69 (13.5%)	72.6	177^th of 752 public middle schools	76.5%		69.2	199^th of 743 public middle schools	73.2%	22		30.2				77.0	80.1	76.2				52.8	55.8		100.0	44.0	50.9	100.0	100.0			$12,589	$535	$12,054
Roosevelt Middle School	Public	7-8	36 Gilbert Pl	West Orange	07052	Essex County	West Orange Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	No	(973) 669-5373	457	56	8.2	43.8%	84 (18.4%)	160 (35.0%)	173 (37.9%)	9 (2.0%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	29 (6.3%)	62	260^th of 752 public middle schools	65.4%		54.9	308^th of 743 public middle schools	58.5%	48		27.1					76.6	64.2					40.5	17.6	97.6	60.0	78.1			72.7	73.5	$13,694		$13,694
University Middle School	Public	6-8	255 Myrtle Ave	Irvington	07111	Essex County	Irvington Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 399-6879	719	60	11.9	76.8%	3 (0.4%)	443 (61.6%)	269 (37.4%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	9.5	717^th of 752 public middle schools	4.7%		10.7	700^th of 743 public middle schools	5.8%	17		1.3				18.1	18.8	24.6				3.8	10.2	3.9		54.2	54.2					$9,378	$185	$9,193

Frequently Asked Questions about John L. Costley Middle School

How many students attend John L. Costley Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 334 students attended John L. Costley Middle School.

What district is John L. Costley Middle School in?

East Orange School District

Is John L. Costley Middle School a good school?

John L. Costley Middle School ranks in the bottom 4.5% of New Jersey middle schools.

What high school do graduates of John L. Costley Middle School attend?

Students who attend John L. Costley Middle School usually go on to attend East Orange Campus High School

What is the racial makeup of John L. Costley Middle School?

Students at John L. Costley Middle School are 70% African American, 23% Hispanic, 4% White.

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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.