Summary:
South Plainfield School District has one high school, South Plainfield High School, serving grades 9–12 with 1,044 students. Its 2025–2026 math results varied by test: Geometry proficiency exceeded state results, while Algebra I End of Course fell below them. The strongest reported outcome is graduation: 97% of students graduated in 2024–2025, compared with 89% statewide, an 8-point advantage.
With only one school, there is no meaningful local top-to-bottom school ranking; within the school’s results, Geometry is the clearest strength and Algebra I End of Course the sharpest weakness. In 2025–2026, 63% of grade 9 students were proficient in Geometry, 13 points above the state’s 50%; Geometry End of Course was 61%, 10 points above the state’s 52%. Algebra I End of Course was 28%, 12 points below the state’s 40%, although grade 9 Algebra I was 28%, 6 points above the state’s 22%. Graduation is encouraging, but attendance is less favorable: chronic absenteeism was 15%, versus 14% statewide, while the dropout rate was 0.8% at both the school and state levels.
Results shifted differently across subjects rather than improving or declining uniformly. Grade 11 NJGPA English language arts fell 15 points, from 89% to 74%, and grade 11 Science fell 12 points, from 39% to 27%; grade 9 ELA and Algebra I each rose 5 points, while grade 9 Geometry rose 1 point. Across eight tests reported in both years, the average school–state margin narrowed from about 2 points above the state in 2024–2025 to about 1 point above in 2025–2026. SchoolDigger’s rating remained 3 stars, while its ranking moved from 150 of 429 schools (65th percentile) to 214 of 434 (51st percentile). The school’s 2024–2025 student–teacher ratio was 11.2, and 36% were free/reduced lunch eligible that year; these are context, not explanations for outcomes.
Thank you for your feedback!