Best Middle Schools in New Jersey

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Find the best New Jersey middle schools with SchoolDigger.com! Focused on test scores for accurate rankings, our user-friendly site simplifies your search. Empower your decisions by exploring top-rated schools, only on SchoolDigger.com - the ultimate guide to K-12 schools!

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish New Jersey test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

The list is updated annually upon the release of the NJSLA-S and NJSLA test scores by the New Jersey Department of Education. The most recent update was on Wednesday, December 3, 2025.

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School														Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)							Ranking (2025 vs 2024)					ID
Rank (of 752)	School	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Disc Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel from Federal Funds	Total from Federal Funds	Personnel from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Total from State and Local Funds	Average Standard Score (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Rank (2024)	Rank Change from 2024	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	ID
191	Millstone Township Middle School	Public	6-8	5 Dawson Court	Millstone Township	08535	Monmouth County	Millstone Township School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 786-0950	423	46	9.2	8.0%	317 (74.9%)	16 (3.8%)	46 (10.9%)	34 (8.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.4%)	$13,011			$379			$12,632	70.7	68.8	202	11		341023004014
192	Pace Charter School of Hamilton	Public, Charter	K-8	52 Lafayette Ave	Trenton	08610	Mercer County	Pace Charter School of Hamilton	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(609) 599-1212	463	41	11.2	79.9%	32 (6.9%)	81 (17.5%)	336 (72.6%)	8 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.3%)	$10,730			$685			$10,045	70.6	65.7	227	35		340004200322
193	Passaic Academy for Science and Engineering	Public	6-12	291 Lafayette Avenue	Passaic	07055	Passaic County	Passaic City School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 470-5504	650	53	12.2	100.0%	3 (0.5%)	13 (2.0%)	586 (90.2%)	43 (6.6%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.3%)	$9,146						$9,146	70.5	62.9	252	59		341254003433
194	Tinton Falls Middle School	Public	6-8	674 Tinton Avenue	Tinton Falls	07724	Monmouth County	Tinton Falls School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 542-0775	443	52	8.5	26.0%	281 (63.4%)	31 (7.0%)	79 (17.8%)	26 (5.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (5.9%)	$12,348			$113			$12,235	70.5	66.9	217	23		341620004116
195	Wanaque Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	First Street	Wanaque	07465	Passaic County	Wanaque School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 835-8200	506	50	10	21.3%	303 (59.9%)	12 (2.4%)	153 (30.2%)	27 (5.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	9 (1.8%)	$15,590			$449			$15,141	70.5	74.4	164	31		341695004960
196	Buzz Aldrin Middle School	Public	6-8	173 Bellevue Ave	Upper Montclair	07042	Essex County	Montclair Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 509-4220	618	63	9.7	17.2%	317 (51.3%)	90 (14.6%)	91 (14.7%)	45 (7.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	72 (11.7%)	$11,896			$170			$11,726	70.5	71.4	185	11		341056002178
197	Central Jersey College Prep Charter School	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	101 Mettlers Road	Somerset	08873	Somerset County	Central Jersey College Prep Charter School	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 649-3954	1,396	117	11.9	33.2%	131 (9.4%)	324 (23.2%)	245 (17.6%)	657 (47.1%)	8 (0.6%)	3 (0.2%)	28 (2.0%)	$8,883			$325			$8,558	70.3	78.9	131	66		340009000829
198	Malcolm E Nettingham Middle School	Public	5-8	580 Park Avenue	Scotch Plains	07076	Union County	Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 322-4445	913	84	10.9	7.8%	477 (52.2%)	79 (8.7%)	188 (20.6%)	116 (12.7%)	4 (0.4%)	2 (0.2%)	47 (5.1%)	$8,253			$52			$8,201	70.1	74.1	167	31		341467005678
199	Lafayette Township School	Public	PK, KG-8	178 Beaver Run Road	Lafayette	07848	Sussex County	Lafayette Township School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 875-3344	232	27	8.5	6.0%	171 (73.7%)	3 (1.3%)	49 (21.1%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	7 (3.0%)	$16,815			$613			$16,202	70.1	67.4	214	15		340813005374
200	Robert Treat Academy Charter School	Public, Charter	K-8	443 Clifton Avenue	Newark	07104	Essex County	Robert Treat Academy Charter School	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 482-8811	702	37	18.9	79.1%	8 (1.1%)	222 (31.6%)	450 (64.1%)	5 (0.7%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (2.1%)	$11,271			$984			$10,287	70	74.4	165	35		340002500291

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About our rankings:

Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on NJSLA English Language Arts, NJSLA Mathematics, NJSLA Algebra I, NJSLA Geometry, NJSLA Algebra II, NJSLA-S Science test scores released by the New Jersey Department of Education.
These rankings were last updated on December 3, 2025, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the New Jersey Department of Education, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the New Jersey Department of Education.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

Student-Teacher Ratios and their Impact on Class Sizes & School Selection

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Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

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.