Summary:
The Hillside Public School District has two middle schools serving grades 7–8: Walter O. Krumbiegel Middle School (323 students) and Hillside Innovation Academy (97 students), and the clearest shared concern is mathematics, where both schools were below state proficiency in grade 7 (6% and 30%, versus 38%) and grade 8 (3% and 18%, versus 23%) in 2025–26.
Hillside Innovation Academy stands out in ELA: it reached 79% in grade 7 and 85% in grade 8, compared with 33% and 36% at Walter O. Krumbiegel. The school-to-school gaps were 46 and 50 points; Academy was above state results in both grades, while Krumbiegel was below. Academy also led in grade 8 science, with 17% proficiency versus Krumbiegel’s 2%, though both were below the state’s 19%. Algebra I end-of-course results are a notable exception: Krumbiegel scored 71% and Academy 68%, both well above the state’s 40%; in grade 8 Algebra I, however, both schools were below the state.
Recent results are mixed rather than uniformly improving: from 2024–25 to 2025–26, Academy’s math results rose 8 points in grade 7 and 5 in grade 8, while Krumbiegel’s fell 5 and 4 points; grade 8 science rose at both schools. SchoolDigger rates Academy 3 stars, at the 59th percentile statewide, and Krumbiegel 1 star, at the 13th percentile. In 2024–25, Academy had a higher student-teacher ratio (16.1 versus 10.7) and a somewhat lower free/reduced lunch eligible share (67% versus 73%). These are contextual differences, not explanations for the test results.
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