Paterson Public School District

The Paterson Public School District in New Jersey operates 43 schools, including 31 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and 9 high schools, serving a predominantly low-income student population. The district faces significant challenges, with most schools performing well below state averages on academic assessments, high rates of chronic absenteeism, and wide disparities in student outcomes.

A few schools stand out in the data, including School 28, which ranked 1st out of 1,347 New Jersey elementary schools and received a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger, with over 90% of students proficient in English Language Arts and Mathematics. In contrast, Norman S. Weir and School 1 performed better than the district average but still had significant room for improvement, with proficiency rates ranging from 45% to 50%.

The district-wide data reveals several key challenges, including a 4-year high school graduation rate of 91.3%, which is lower than the state average, and a chronic absenteeism rate of 14.9%, which is significantly higher than the state average. Additionally, the district's performance on state assessments was generally low, with most schools scoring well below the state averages in English Language Arts and Mathematics. The high rates of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 70% to over 90% in many schools, indicate that the district serves a predominantly low-income population, which likely contributes to the academic challenges faced by many of the schools.