Best Public Schools in Rumson, NJ

Three schools in Rumson, New Jersey, serve students from prekindergarten through grade 12: Deane-Porter Elementary School (PK–3), Forrestdale School (grades 4–8), and Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (grades 9–12); together, they enroll 1,725 students. Since the schools generally test different grades or courses, their test scores are best viewed alongside the state results rather than as a direct school-to-school contest. The clearest overall finding is that every reported 2025–2026 test result with a numeric school score at all three schools was above the state result.

Forrestdale School stands out for its high results across grades 4–8: proficiency ranged from 70% to 96% in English Language Arts (ELA) and 66% to 89% in regular Mathematics, with every result above the state. It also had 100% proficiency on Algebra I end-of-course testing and in grades 7 and 8. Deane-Porter Elementary School posted strong grade 3 results: 84% in ELA versus 48% statewide and 88% in Mathematics versus 49% statewide. At the high school, grade 9 ELA was 82% versus 51% statewide, and Algebra I was 66% versus 22%. SchoolDigger ranked Forrestdale 10th of 743 schools statewide (99th percentile), Deane-Porter 26th of 1,331 (98th percentile), and the high school 38th of 434 (91st percentile)—all high placements, with Forrestdale highest among the three.

Recent results show both improvement and decline. Forrestdale’s grade-matched average ELA proficiency fell from 92% to 86% between the two test years, and Mathematics from 84% to 81%; its average advantage over the state narrowed in both subjects. Deane-Porter’s grade 3 ELA rose by 7 percentage points, while Mathematics fell by 5. At the high school, Algebra II proficiency dropped from 100% to 74%, although it remained above the 52% state result. Other useful context: student-teacher ratios were 10.7 at Deane-Porter, 8.0 at Forrestdale, and 9.8 at the high school. The reported free/reduced lunch eligible shares were 0.8% at Deane-Porter (2022–2023), 1.0% at Forrestdale (2023–2024), and 0.9% at the high school (2024–2025); these are from different years. In 2024–2025, the high school’s graduation rate was 97%, compared with 89% statewide, and chronic absenteeism was 9%, versus 14% statewide.