Summary:
ZIP code 60046 has two public middle schools, both serving grades 6–8, with results that put the schools on opposite sides of statewide proficiency levels. Their two-school average is above the state in ELA, math, and eighth-grade science, but that average hides a consistent divide between the schools. The most important finding is that Millburn leads Peter J Palombi in all three subjects, by 20 to 29 percentage points.
Millburn Middle School stands out at the top: in 2025–26, 75% of students were proficient in ELA, 60% in math, and 69% in eighth-grade science, above state results of 56%, 40%, and 52%. Peter J Palombi School had the lower results in each subject—49% in ELA, 31% in math, and 48% in science—and was below the state in all three. Millburn’s leads were 26 percentage points in ELA, 29 in math, and 20 in science. SchoolDigger ranked Millburn at the 84th statewide percentile with four stars, compared with Palombi at the 29th percentile with one star.
Recent test-score changes offer a more mixed picture: Palombi gained 5 percentage points in math and 14 in science from the previous year, but its ELA result fell by 1 point; Millburn improved in all three subjects. SchoolDigger’s percentile histories declined for both schools, from 48 to 29 for Palombi and from 90 to 84 for Millburn. Context measures also differ: in 2024–25, 45% of Palombi students and 21% of Millburn students were free/reduced lunch eligible; student-teacher ratios were 14.6 and 12.9, respectively. In 2025–26, chronic absenteeism was 19% at Palombi and 13% at Millburn, both below the 24% state rate. These short histories and school context figures describe differences but do not explain their cause.
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