Best Public Schools in Toms River, NJ

Summary:

The city of Toms River, New Jersey is home to 16 schools, including 10 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and 4 high schools, all part of the Toms River Regional School District. The district is ranked 460 out of 609 districts in New Jersey and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Among the standout schools in Toms River are Toms River High School East, which has the highest statewide ranking among the Toms River high schools, ranking 179 out of 434 New Jersey high schools and earning a 3-star rating. North Dover Elementary School also stands out, ranking 660 out of 1,347 New Jersey elementary schools and earning a 3-star rating. Additionally, OCVTS Grunin Performing Arts Academy, a specialized high school, has a strong performance record, ranking 84 out of 429 New Jersey high schools and earning a 4-star rating.

The data reveals a wide range of performance among the Toms River schools, with the district's high schools and middle schools generally performing below the state averages in proficiency on standardized assessments, while the elementary schools have a more mixed performance. There also appears to be a relationship between the percentage of free/reduced lunch recipients and academic performance, with the higher-poverty schools generally underperforming compared to their lower-poverty counterparts. The Toms River Regional School District as a whole is struggling, with a low statewide ranking and 1-star rating, suggesting systemic challenges that are impacting the performance of many of its schools.

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				NJGPA English Language Arts (2025)	NJGPA Mathematics (2025)	NJSLA-S Science (2025)			NJSLA English Language Arts (2025)							NJSLA Mathematics (2025)						NJSLA Algebra I (2025)			NJSLA Geometry (2025)			NJSLA Algebra II (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
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/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	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 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	NJSLA Algebra II 9th Grade	NJSLA Algebra II End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Ocean Regional School	Public, Alternative	1-12	1141 Old Freehold Rd	Toms River	08753	Ocean County	Office Of Education Department Of Children And Families	No	(n/a)	No	No	(732) 505-4180	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Ocean County Jdc	Public, Alternative	8-11	165 Sunset Avenue	Toms River	08754	Ocean County	Ocean County Jdc	No	(n/a)	No	No	(732) 341-1365	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Ocean County Vocational Technical School Toms River Center	Public	9-12	1299 Old Freehold Road	Toms River	08753	Ocean County	Ocean County Vocational Technical School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 473-3100	0	19	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)																											$8,286	$841	$7,445
OCVTS Grunin Performing Arts Academy	Public	9-12	1 College Drive	Toms River	08754	Ocean County	Ocean County Vocational Technical School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(732) 286-5678	259	28	9.2	16.2%	209 (80.7%)	8 (3.1%)	27 (10.4%)	3 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.3%)	45.4	234^th of 434 public high schools	46.1%		73.3	84^th of 429 public high schools	80.4%	150		51.6			14.5							62.3								38.1	38.1						$15,088		$15,088
Joseph A. Citta Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2050 Lakewood Road	Toms River	08755	Ocean County	Toms River Regional School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 818-8550	511	38	13.5	73.8%	144 (28.2%)	72 (14.1%)	251 (49.1%)	17 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (5.3%)	17.6	1137^th of 1347 public elementary schools	15.6%		19.2	1086^th of 1338 public elementary schools	18.8%	51			10.7			22.9	32.5	42.4					36.5	18.9	12.0												$6,372	$520	$5,852
Toms River High School North	Public	9-12	1245 Old Freehold Road	Toms River	08753	Ocean County	Toms River Regional School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(732) 505-5702	1,861	134	13.8	47.8%	857 (46.1%)	149 (8.0%)	685 (36.8%)	89 (4.8%)	2 (0.1%)	4 (0.2%)	75 (4.0%)	39.4	270^th of 434 public high schools	37.8%		45.1	227^th of 429 public high schools	47.1%	43	79.0	48.3			20.5							45.6								16.9	17.2		63.8	61.3			$7,049		$7,049
Toms River High School South	Public	9-12	55 Hyers Street	Toms River	08753	Ocean County	Toms River Regional School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(732) 505-5738	1,463	91	16.1	41.5%	889 (60.8%)	88 (6.0%)	414 (28.3%)	28 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (3.0%)	31.8	307^th of 434 public high schools	29.3%		38.3	265^th of 429 public high schools	38.2%	42	73.4	41.0			9.7							48.1								15.3	15.3		55.9	55.9			$7,311		$7,311
Toms River Intermediate School East	Public	6-8	1519 Hooper Avenue	Toms River	08753	Ocean County	Toms River Regional School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(732) 505-5777	1,271	86	14.7	34.8%	898 (70.7%)	31 (2.4%)	262 (20.6%)	35 (2.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (3.5%)	53.5	321^st of 752 public middle schools	57.3%		53.6	319^th of 743 public middle schools	57.1%	2				18.0					56.2	66.7	65.4					27.2	38.3	18.7	89.6		90.6	92.9		92.9			$5,993		$5,993
Toms River Intermediate School North	Public	6-8	150 Intermediate North Way	Toms River	08753	Ocean County	Toms River Regional School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 505-5800	970	83	11.6	55.5%	397 (40.9%)	86 (8.9%)	386 (39.8%)	64 (6.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	35 (3.6%)	32.7	485^th of 752 public middle schools	35.5%		35.8	457^th of 743 public middle schools	38.5%	28				11.6					40.3	49.0	47.5					26.4	26.1	9.7	80.9		83.1						$7,203	$194	$7,009
Cedar Grove Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	179 Cedar Grove Road	Toms River	08753	Ocean County	Toms River Regional School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(732) 505-5830	931	53	17.7	39.8%	601 (64.6%)	22 (2.4%)	247 (26.5%)	29 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	31 (3.3%)	43.7	761^st of 1347 public elementary schools	43.5%		39.6	803^rd of 1338 public elementary schools	40.0%	42			30.4			38.8	42.2	56.2					47.8	47.4	34.6												$4,999	$101	$4,898
East Dover Elementary School	Public	K-5	725 Vaughn Avenue	Toms River	08753	Ocean County	Toms River Regional School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 505-5840	584	47	12.4	44.0%	383 (65.6%)	21 (3.6%)	138 (23.6%)	6 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	34 (5.8%)	29.9	959^th of 1347 public elementary schools	28.8%		22	1044^th of 1338 public elementary schools	22.0%	85			7.6			44.4	42.4	30.5					45.3	43.5	23.7												$7,109	$329	$6,780
Hooper Avenue Elementary School	Public	K-5	1517 Hooper Avenue	Toms River	08753	Ocean County	Toms River Regional School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(732) 505-5850	693	47	14.7	23.2%	521 (75.2%)	15 (2.2%)	107 (15.4%)	10 (1.4%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (5.6%)	45.7	732^nd of 1347 public elementary schools	45.7%		48.6	688^th of 1338 public elementary schools	48.6%	44			22.9			39.8	46.1	56.6					54.9	44.3	43.4												$6,561	$346	$6,215
North Dover Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1759 New Hampshire Avenue	Toms River	08753	Ocean County	Toms River Regional School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(732) 505-5860	384	34	11.2	54.2%	174 (45.3%)	25 (6.5%)	135 (35.2%)	37 (9.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	12 (3.1%)	51.5	660^th of 1347 public elementary schools	51.0%		66.1	468^th of 1338 public elementary schools	65.0%	192			23.2			55.5	58.7	46.4					58.1	48.2	39.3												$6,547	$170	$6,377
Silver Bay Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	100 Silver Bay Road	Toms River	08753	Ocean County	Toms River Regional School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(732) 505-5880	585	41	14.2	34.0%	431 (73.7%)	14 (2.4%)	106 (18.1%)	11 (1.9%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (3.6%)	40.7	800^th of 1347 public elementary schools	40.6%		49.3	677^th of 1338 public elementary schools	49.4%	123			25.1			52.2	42.7	48.8					41.2	44.8	32.1												$7,524		$7,524
South Toms River Elementary School	Public	K-5	419 Dover Road	Toms River	08757	Ocean County	Toms River Regional School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 505-5890	330	27	12.0	72.4%	105 (31.8%)	40 (12.1%)	145 (43.9%)	6 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (10.3%)	10.4	1245^th of 1347 public elementary schools	7.6%		13.5	1174^th of 1338 public elementary schools	12.3%	71			8.2			9.8	26.9	25.8					11.3	21.1	21.0												$8,351	$672	$7,679
Walnut Street Elementary School	Public	K-5	60 Walnut Street	Toms River	08753	Ocean County	Toms River Regional School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 505-5900	727	55	13.3	64.4%	245 (33.7%)	84 (11.6%)	329 (45.3%)	29 (4.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (5.5%)	20.7	1089^th of 1347 public elementary schools	19.2%		19.2	1087^th of 1338 public elementary schools	18.8%	2			19.4			23.2	21.8	35.6					34.8	23.5	31.7												$6,860	$486	$6,374
Washington Street Elementary School	Public	K-5	500 West Earl Court	Toms River	08753	Ocean County	Toms River Regional School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(732) 505-5910	354	25	14.3	42.4%	230 (65.0%)	11 (3.1%)	92 (26.0%)	8 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.7%)	41.7	791^st of 1347 public elementary schools	41.3%		47.1	708^th of 1338 public elementary schools	47.1%	83			19.7			34.3	46.0	51.7					44.6	49.2	47.5												$6,399	$280	$6,119
West Dover Elementary School	Public	K-5	50 Blue Jay Drive	Toms River	08753	Ocean County	Toms River Regional School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 505-5920	387	28	13.8	42.4%	221 (57.1%)	24 (6.2%)	99 (25.6%)	23 (5.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.9%)	24.3	1030^th of 1347 public elementary schools	23.5%		35.8	856^th of 1338 public elementary schools	36.0%	174			24.2			23.2	29.2	44.8					27.4	32.3	32.9												$7,274	$289	$6,985
Toms River High School East	Public	9-12	1225 Raider Way	Toms River	08753	Ocean County	Toms River Regional School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(732) 505-5665	1,377	105	13.1	32.3%	977 (71.0%)	43 (3.1%)	266 (19.3%)	44 (3.2%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (3.3%)	53.4	179^th of 434 public high schools	58.8%		49.9	201^st of 429 public high schools	53.1%	22	84.2	54.0			23.4							60.2								23.6	23.6		93.0	90.5	100.0	100.0	$7,815		$7,815

Cities Near Toms River

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Brick	3.01 mi	13	352^nd
Island Heights	3.5 mi	1	132^nd
Pine Beach	3.68 mi	1	441^st
Beachwood	4.58 mi	2	421^st
Ocean Gate	4.88 mi	1	497^th

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.