Elementary Schools in Rockaway Township School District

The five elementary schools in Rockaway Township School District enroll 298 to 365 students; three serve kindergarten through grade 5, while two also serve prekindergarten. In 2025–2026, all seven area averages for tested grades and subjects were above their matching state averages, and 27 of the 35 school-grade-subject results topped the state. Still, school and grade results varied widely: grade 4 math ranged by 58 percentage points, from 32% at Birchwood to 90% at Stony Brook. The most important finding is that strong area averages do not mean results are consistently strong at every school or grade.

Stony Brook Elementary School was the clearest overall standout, averaging 67% in ELA and 76% in math across grades 3–5. Those were 9 and 15 points above the next-highest schools, respectively, and 19 and 29 points above state averages. At the other end, Catherine A Dwyer Elementary School had the lowest ELA average at 52%, while Birchwood Elementary School had the lowest math average at 42%, 15 points below the next-lowest school. Stony Brook also led grade 5 science at 46%; Katharine D Malone Elementary School was lowest at 18%, 19 points below the next-lowest school.

Results declined overall from 2024–2025: the average across the 35 tests fell from 58% to 55%, while the state average fell from 46% to 45%, narrowing the area’s lead from 12 to 10 points. ELA fell 5 points, science 4, and math was essentially unchanged. Malone had broad declines, including 13 points in ELA and 9 in math; Dennis B O’Brien Elementary School improved 8 points in math and 10 in science, despite an ELA decline. SchoolDigger’s ranking percentile rose 5 points for Stony Brook and 10 for O’Brien, but fell 7 for Dwyer, 19 for Birchwood, and 8 for Malone. Stony Brook had the lowest student-teacher ratio, 9.2, while O’Brien’s 9.3 ratio accompanied strong grade 5 results. All schools reported free/reduced lunch eligible figures for 2024–2025: from 7% at Stony Brook to 28% at Dwyer; O’Brien was at 26%. These figures offer context, not an explanation for test results.