Summary:
Middle schools in Elmwood Park CUSD 401 include one school, Elm Middle School, serving grades 6–8 and enrolling 615 students. Its results show a clear subject-by-subject contrast: in 2025–26, ELA proficiency was 71%, compared with 56% statewide, while math proficiency was 34%, compared with 40% statewide. The most important takeaway is that Elm’s ELA results are above the state, but its all-grades math results are below it.
With no other middle school in the list, Elm is both the area’s only school and the point of comparison; its strongest results are in grade 8, while grade 7 math is the clearest weakness. Grade 8 ELA proficiency was 84%, 21 percentage points above the state, and grade 8 science was 68%, 16 points above the state. Grade 8 math was also above the state, at 41% versus 35%—a 7-point advantage. By contrast, grade 7 math was 28%, 12 points below the state’s 40%. These grade-level differences mean the schoolwide averages do not tell the whole story.
Results improved from 2024–25 to 2025–26 in all three reported comparisons: ELA rose 5 percentage points, from 66% to 71%; math rose 6 points, from 29% to 34%; and grade 8 science rose 17 points, from 51% to 68%. Elm’s math shortfall versus the state narrowed from 10 points to 6, while its ELA and science advantages grew. At the same time, SchoolDigger’s percentile ranking fell from 66 in 2023–24 to 60 in 2025–26, showing that improved scores do not necessarily mean a stronger relative ranking. As context, 63% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible in 2024–25, and the student–teacher ratio was 13.3:1. Because the list contains only one school, it cannot show how these characteristics relate to results across peer schools.
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