Middle Schools in Barnegat Township School District

The Barnegat Township School District in New Jersey operates two middle schools: Russell O. Brackman Middle School and Robert L. Horbelt Elementary School. Both schools are performing significantly below the state average on academic measures, with little to no improvement over the years.

According to the data, neither school stands out as an exceptional performer. Russell O. Brackman Middle School is ranked 481 out of 752 New Jersey middle schools and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger, while the Barnegat Township School District as a whole is ranked 464 out of 609 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating. Both schools have high chronic absenteeism rates of 14.9%, which may be contributing to their low academic performance.

The academic performance of the middle schools is particularly concerning, with both schools performing well below the state average on the NJSLA (New Jersey Student Learning Assessments) tests in English Language Arts and Mathematics. For example, in 2024-2025, only 35.7% of 7th-grade students at Russell O. Brackman Middle School were proficient or better in ELA, compared to the state average of 57%. In Mathematics, the 8th-grade proficiency rate at the same school was only 22.2%, compared to the state average of 20.7%. The performance at Robert L. Horbelt Elementary School was also below state averages in both ELA and Mathematics for 5th and 6th grades.