Summary:
The city of Harrison, New Jersey is home to a single middle school, Washington Middle School, which serves students in grades 6-8. Despite higher per-student spending compared to the state average, the school has consistently ranked in the bottom half of New Jersey middle schools over the past three years, indicating persistent challenges in improving student outcomes.
Washington Middle School's academic performance is uneven, with notably strong results on the Algebra I assessment, where 95.4% of 8th-grade students scored proficient or better, significantly higher than the state average of 72.7%. However, the school's proficiency rates in other subjects, such as English Language Arts and Mathematics, are significantly below the state average, ranging from 39.9% to 52.9% in ELA and 18.7% to 24.8% in Math, compared to state averages of 56.1% to 57.1% and 20.7% to 39.8%, respectively. The school's science proficiency rates are also low, with only 10.6% of 8th-grade students scoring proficient or better, compared to the state average of 19%.
The school serves a predominantly low-income student population, with 84.2% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in the 2023-2024 school year. This high concentration of students from low-income backgrounds may present unique challenges in terms of resource allocation and support, which the school's higher per-student spending has not yet been able to overcome. Overall, Harrison Public Schools and Washington Middle School face significant hurdles in improving student learning and achievement.
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