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Plainfield Public School District

At a glance

564^thof 609 New Jersey districts▲ 4

Better than 7% of New Jersey districts

Elementary 10 Middle 2 High 3Grades PK, KG-12

1200 Myrtle Avenue
Plainfield, NJ 07063-1139·(908) 731-4200·All New Jersey district rankings →

Statewide performance 2016–2025

2025: better than 7.4% of districts

Schools

8,522

Students

Top rankedFrederic W. Cook Elementary School580^th of 1,347 New Jersey elementary schools

▲

Biggest riser

Frederic W. Cook Elementary School up 199 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Frederic W. Cook Elementary School 5.5 students per teacher

✦

Newly ranked this year

Charles and Anna Booker Elementary School

SchoolDigger ratings

1★

0★

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

Compare New Jersey districts →See the top-ranked New Jersey schools →

Summary:

The Plainfield Public School District in New Jersey serves a diverse population, comprising 15 schools - 10 elementary, 2 middle, and 3 high schools. The district faces significant challenges, with low academic performance and high chronic absenteeism rates across most schools.

Among the standout schools, Frederic W. Cook Elementary School emerges as the top performer, with the highest proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics for grades 3-5, as well as the district's only 3-star rating from SchoolDigger. Emerson Community School also stands out, with proficiency rates above the district and state averages in many grade levels and subject areas. In contrast, the district's high schools, such as Plainfield High School, struggle with low test scores and high chronic absenteeism rates.

The data reveals significant equity challenges within the district, with the majority of schools serving a high percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Additionally, the district's specialized school, Plainfield Academy for the Arts & Advanced Studies, demonstrates stronger performance in areas like graduation rates and English Language Arts proficiency, suggesting that a targeted approach may benefit some students. Overall, the Plainfield Public School District faces a complex set of challenges that require a comprehensive strategy to improve educational outcomes for all 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 (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)		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 10th Grade	NJSLA Algebra I End of Course	NJSLA Geometry 9th Grade	NJSLA Geometry End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Pinnacle Academy High School	Public	9-12	209 Berckman St	Plainfield	07062	Union County	Plainfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(908) 731-4270	67	3	22.3	74.6%	0 (0.0%)	12 (17.9%)	55 (82.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Plainfield Academy For The Arts & Advanced Studies	Public	7-12	1700 West Front St	Plainfield	07063	Union County	Plainfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 731-4421	357	40	8.9	77.3%	2 (0.6%)	112 (31.4%)	239 (66.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.1%)	20.5	357^th of 434 public high schools	17.7%		23.2	339^th of 429 public high schools	21.0%	18		57.0		6.3	22.1					54.8	56.3	41.4					16.1	0.0	40.0	0.0		14.9	28.6	28.6	$12,696		$12,696
Plainfield High School	Public	9-12	950 Park Avenue	Plainfield	07060	Union County	Plainfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 731-4390	2,077	156	13.3	75.4%	17 (0.8%)	326 (15.7%)	1,708 (82.2%)	8 (0.4%)	4 (0.2%)	3 (0.1%)	11 (0.5%)	8	425^th of 434 public high schools	2.1%		8	415^th of 429 public high schools	3.3%	10	46.6	16.8			5.0							16.5								3.3	0.0	2.9	10.4	10.2	$10,696		$10,696
Hubbard Middle School	Public	6-8	661 W Eighth St	Plainfield	07060	Union County	Plainfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 731-4320	737	66	11.1	86.4%	4 (0.5%)	81 (11.0%)	647 (87.8%)	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	14.8	659^th of 752 public middle schools	12.4%		12.5	679^th of 743 public middle schools	8.6%	20				1.7					23.3	19.6	20.5					13.2	14.5	15.1	95.5			95.5			$7,716	$269	$7,447
Maxson Middle School	Public	6-8	920 E Seventh St	Plainfield	07062	Union County	Plainfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 731-4310	721	78	9.2	76.7%	6 (0.8%)	106 (14.7%)	601 (83.4%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	12.7	678^th of 752 public middle schools	9.8%		12.3	683^rd of 743 public middle schools	8.1%	5				2.6					27.9	24.2	17.6					11.7	14.2	4.0	73.1			73.1			$9,328	$135	$9,193
Dewitt D. Barlow Elementary School	Public	K-5	E Front St & Farragut Rd	Plainfield	07060	Union County	Plainfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 731-4300	423	33	12.6	83.2%	8 (1.9%)	37 (8.7%)	375 (88.7%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	14.1	1189^th of 1347 public elementary schools	11.7%		12.2	1202^nd of 1338 public elementary schools	10.2%	13			7.2			22.9	21.4	30.4					32.8	20.8	21.4										$10,430	$260	$10,170
Cedarbrook Elementary School	Public	K-8	1049 Central Ave	Plainfield	07060	Union County	Plainfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 731-4280	671	60	11.1	69.2%	5 (0.7%)	188 (28.0%)	463 (69.0%)	4 (0.6%)	2 (0.3%)	3 (0.4%)	6 (0.9%)	14.8	1177^th of 1347 public elementary schools	12.6%		13.9	1166^th of 1338 public elementary schools	12.9%	11			8.0	5.4		31.2	25.0	23.2	29.3	34.7	37.8		25.0	17.6	21.0	23.2	18.8	18.9							$9,658	$142	$9,516
Clinton Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	West 4th St And Clinton Ave	Plainfield	07063	Union County	Plainfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 731-4220	386	37	10.5	83.9%	2 (0.5%)	61 (15.8%)	317 (82.1%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.0%)	12.7	1205^th of 1347 public elementary schools	10.5%		12.4	1199^th of 1338 public elementary schools	10.4%	6			8.0			30.0	22.6	31.4					16.4	17.5	19.2										$10,979	$261	$10,718
Frederic W. Cook Elementary School	Public	K-5	739 Leland Ave	Plainfield	07062	Union County	Plainfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 731-4215	198	36	5.5	49.5%	5 (2.5%)	107 (54.0%)	79 (39.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.5%)	4 (2.0%)	57.4	580^th of 1347 public elementary schools	56.9%		41.3	779^th of 1338 public elementary schools	41.8%	199			24.0			67.8	66.7	84.0					51.6	39.3	24.0										$11,721		$11,721
Emerson Community School	Public	K-5	305 Emerson Ave	Plainfield	07062	Union County	Plainfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 731-4205	414	36	11.5	72.7%	6 (1.4%)	105 (25.4%)	296 (71.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.7%)	3 (0.7%)	31.9	931^st of 1347 public elementary schools	30.9%		21.5	1054^th of 1338 public elementary schools	21.2%	123			8.0			47.7	33.9	43.3					53.6	30.8	28.9										$9,801	$208	$9,593
Evergreen Elementary School	Public	K-5	1033 Evergreen Ave	Plainfield	07060	Union County	Plainfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 731-4260	398	47	8.5	75.1%	8 (2.0%)	36 (9.0%)	350 (87.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	3 (0.8%)	8.9	1272^nd of 1347 public elementary schools	5.6%		10.5	1229^th of 1338 public elementary schools	8.1%	43			9.0			10.4	15.8	10.6					27.9	20.7	11.9										$9,188	$181	$9,007
Jefferson Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1700 W. Front St	Plainfield	07063	Union County	Plainfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 731-4250	383	38	10.2	82.5%	5 (1.3%)	31 (8.1%)	342 (89.3%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	15.1	1172^nd of 1347 public elementary schools	13.0%		12.1	1205^th of 1338 public elementary schools	9.9%	33			13.7			20.0	23.8	25.7					18.1	27.0	29.6										$10,400	$232	$10,168
Charles H. Stillman Elementary School	Public	K-5	201 W Fourth St	Plainfield	07062	Union County	Plainfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 731-4240	317	28	11.3	87.4%	1 (0.3%)	31 (9.8%)	283 (89.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	10	1255^th of 1347 public elementary schools	6.8%		14.5	1153^rd of 1338 public elementary schools	13.8%	102			10.9			5.4	18.6	26.0					18.6	16.3	21.9										$8,813	$613	$8,200
Washington Community School	Public	PK, KG-5	427 Darrow Ave	Plainfield	07060	Union County	Plainfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 731-4230	557	45	12.3	87.6%	4 (0.7%)	44 (7.9%)	504 (90.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	3 (0.5%)	9.3	1266^th of 1347 public elementary schools	6.0%		10.9	1223^rd of 1338 public elementary schools	8.6%	43			2.5			23.9	17.4	9.1					23.7	23.1	8.9										$10,327	$167	$10,160
Charles and Anna Booker Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	730 Central Street	Plainfield	07062	Union County	Plainfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(908) 731-4290	816	34	24.0	85.9%	6 (0.7%)	69 (8.5%)	728 (89.2%)	7 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (0.7%)	7.8	1287^th of 1347 public elementary schools	4.5%					(n/a)			4.4			6.8	10.7	18.2					30.9	11.4	12.4

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
North Plainfield School District	0.55 mi	6	558^th
College Achieve Central Charter School	0.64 mi	1
The Barack Obama Green Charter High School District	0.69 mi	1	578^th
Central Jersey Arts Charter School	0.75 mi	1
Union County TEAMS Charter School-High School/College LA	1.23 mi	1

See the top NJ New Jersey districts

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.