Summary:
Sterling Regional School District has one public high school, Sterling High School, serving grades 9–12, with 839 students. In 2024–25, its graduation rate was 72%, well below New Jersey’s 89%; its dropout rate was slightly higher than the state’s, at 1.0% versus 0.8%. Chronic absenteeism was a more favorable comparison: 12% at the school versus 14% statewide. The most important concern is the substantial graduation-rate gap of 17 percentage points.
In the latest test results, English Language Arts was the school’s strongest area relative to state results, while Algebra I was its clearest weakness. On 2025–26 11th-grade NJGPA English Language Arts, 75% of students met expectations, close to the state’s 76%—a 1-point gap; 9th-grade ELA was 47% versus 51%, a 4-point gap. By contrast, Algebra I End of Course proficiency was 10% versus 40% statewide, a 30-point gap, and the 9th-grade Algebra I comparison was 10% versus 22%, a 12-point gap. Because this is the district’s only school, there is no meaningful school-to-school ranking or local top and bottom.
Across eight test comparisons reported in both years, the average gap narrowed from 14 points below the state in 2024–25 to 11 points below in 2025–26, a 3-point improvement; six of the eight gaps narrowed. Science went the other way: 11th-grade results fell from 20% to 12%, while the state fell from 31% to 29%, widening the gap from 12 to 17 points. SchoolDigger ranks the school 295th of 434 statewide, at the 32nd percentile with two stars; its percentile moved from 34th in 2023–24 to 30th, then 32nd. The 2024–25 student–teacher ratio was 11.7, and 39% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible that year; these figures provide context, not explanations for results.
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