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Best Public Schools in Hillside, NJ

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its New Jersey rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

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At a glance

Schools

2,957

Students

Top rankedHillside Innovation Academy305^th of 743 New Jersey middle schools

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Biggest riser

Deanna G. Taylor Academy up 36 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Deanna G. Taylor Academy 10.1 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

3★

2★

1★

1 school without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

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Summary:

Hillside, New Jersey, has seven public schools serving prekindergarten through grade 12, with 2,957 students across four elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school. The results vary sharply by grade and subject: elementary leaders change, while the middle schools show the clearest divide. In 2025–2026, Hillside Innovation Academy scored 79% in grade 7 ELA and 85% in grade 8, compared with 33% and 36% at Walter O. Krumbiegel Middle School—the most striking difference in the area’s results.

Hillside Innovation Academy also led the middle schools in math, by 24 points in grade 7 and 15 points in grade 8, though both schools were below state math rates. Among elementary schools, Hurden Looker Elementary School led ELA in grades 4–6 and math in grades 5–6; Deanna G. Taylor Academy led grade 3 ELA and math, while Ola Edwards Community School led grade 4 math. No elementary school matched state math rates in grades 3–6. At the high school, Hillside High School was below state rates on all supplied measures, including grade 9 Algebra I (4% versus 22%) and grade 11 NJGPA math (36% versus 61%). One exception to the broader pattern: Krumbiegel’s end-of-course Algebra I rate was 71%, above the state’s 40%.

Recent trends are mixed, and SchoolDigger rankings add context rather than a single verdict: Innovation’s percentile fell from 75 in 2023–2024 to 59 in 2025–2026, despite its strong ELA results; Taylor’s grade 3 and grade 6 ELA scores rose while the average across elementary school-grade results fell 10 points. SchoolDigger rated Innovation 3 stars, Hurden 2, and Taylor, Ola Edwards, Krumbiegel and Hillside High 1 star. The reported low-income measure for 2024–2025 was free/reduced lunch eligible: 78% at Hurden, 83% at Ola Edwards and 73% at Taylor. Ratios also vary, from 10.1 students per teacher at Taylor to 12.7 at Hurden, while Innovation reported 16.1. Abram P. Morris Early Childhood Center serves PK–1 and has no supplied test results; Innovation’s enrollment is 97, so its results may reflect relatively few students.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				NJGPA English Language Arts (2026)	NJGPA Mathematics (2026)	NJSLA-S Science (2026)			NJSLA English Language Arts (2026)							NJSLA Mathematics (2026)						NJSLA Algebra I (2026)				NJSLA Geometry (2026)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	NJGPA English Language Arts 11th Grade	NJGPA Mathematics 11th Grade	NJSLA-S Science 5th Grade	NJSLA-S Science 8th Grade	NJSLA-S Science 11th 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 English Language Arts 9th 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 9th Grade	NJSLA Algebra I End of Course	NJSLA Geometry 8th Grade	NJSLA Geometry 9th Grade	NJSLA Geometry End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Hillside High School	Public	9-12	1085 Liberty Ave	Hillside	07205	Union County	Hillside Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 352-7664	911	67	13.5	66.5%	67 (7.4%)	499 (54.8%)	329 (36.1%)	6 (0.7%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	7 (0.8%)	15.6	380^th of 434 public high schools	12.4%		22.2	347^th of 434 public high schools	20.0%	33	61.1	35.5			9.3							28.0									4.1	4.1		0.0	0.0	$18,844	$353	$18,491
Deanna G. Taylor Academy	Public	2-6	614 Tillman St	Hillside	07205	Union County	Hillside Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 352-7664	202	20	10.1	72.8%	20 (9.9%)	111 (55.0%)	62 (30.7%)	3 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.5%)	3 (1.5%)	21.1	1060^th of 1331 public elementary schools	20.4%		20.1	1096^th of 1347 public elementary schools	18.6%	36			12.2			40.4	18.0	38.5	35.0				38.1	12.8	22.0	20.0										$29,016	$726	$28,290
Hurden Looker Elementary School	Public	2-6	1261 Liberty Ave	Hillside	07205	Union County	Hillside Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 352-7664	408	32	12.7	78.2%	46 (11.3%)	164 (40.2%)	187 (45.8%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.7%)	4 (1.0%)	33.4	886^th of 1331 public elementary schools	33.4%		46.1	723^rd of 1347 public elementary schools	46.3%	163			18.2			30.2	43.9	50.7	56.5				24.1	23.1	36.4	31.9										$20,393	$415	$19,978
Walter O. Krumbiegel Middle School	Public	7-8	145 Hillside Ave	Hillside	07205	Union County	Hillside Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 352-7664	323	30	10.7	73.1%	15 (4.6%)	178 (55.1%)	128 (39.6%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14.8	647^th of 743 public middle schools	12.9%		16.3	649^th of 752 public middle schools	13.7%	2				1.7						32.9	35.6						5.6	2.5		71.4		71.4				$26,262	$589	$25,673
Abram P. Morris Early Childhood Center	Public	PK, KG-1	143 Coe Ave	Hillside	07205	Union County	Hillside Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 352-7664	625	49	12.7	69.3%	77 (12.3%)	287 (45.9%)	243 (38.9%)	9 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	8 (1.3%)								(n/a)																										$16,105	$195	$15,910
Ola Edwards Community School	Public	2-6	1530 Leslie St	Hillside	07205	Union County	Hillside Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 352-7664	391	34	11.5	82.9%	38 (9.7%)	188 (48.1%)	154 (39.4%)	5 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.5%)	24.2	1015^th of 1331 public elementary schools	23.7%		34.7	886^th of 1347 public elementary schools	34.2%	129			16.7			35.1	23.5	41.1	45.7				22.3	28.0	30.0	18.6										$20,205	$423	$19,782
Hillside Innovation Academy	Public	7-8	195 Virginia St-1100 Woodruff Ave	Hillside	07205	Union County	Hillside Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(908) 352-7664	97	6	16.1	67.0%	8 (8.2%)	60 (61.9%)	25 (25.8%)	2 (2.1%)	1 (1.0%)	1 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	56	305^th of 743 public middle schools	59.0%		56.3	299^th of 752 public middle schools	60.2%	6				17.1						79.1	85.1						30.0	17.6	69.5	66.7		68.3	58.3		58.3	$41,943	$1,002	$40,941

Cities Near Hillside

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Elizabeth	0.96 mi	39	448^th
Newark	1.15 mi	89	459^th
Union	1.2 mi	12	393^rd
Irvington	1.52 mi	13	531^st
Maplewood	2.33 mi	6	162^nd

See the top NJ New Jersey cities

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.