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
491	Dr. Antonia Pantoja School No. 27	Public	PK, KG-8	505 -517 Morris Avenue	Elizabeth	07208	Union County	Elizabeth Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 436-3900	934	65	14.4	82.8%	38 (4.1%)	152 (16.3%)	729 (78.1%)	11 (1.2%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	$8,896			$228			$8,668	32.2	29.9	511	20		340459002997
492	Alder Avenue Middle School	Public	6-8	25 Alder Avenue	Egg Harbor Township	08234	Atlantic County	Egg Harbor Township School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(609) 383-3366	919	79	11.5	50.1%	353 (38.4%)	87 (9.5%)	291 (31.7%)	142 (15.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (4.9%)	$14,148			$84			$14,064	31.9	36.3	451	41		340456002953
493	Walter F. Robinson Community School	Public	PK, KG-8	95 West 31st Street	Bayonne	07002	Hudson County	Bayonne School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(201) 858-5964	924	84	11	68.0%	418 (45.2%)	66 (7.1%)	344 (37.2%)	62 (6.7%)	3 (0.3%)	5 (0.5%)	25 (2.7%)	$10,239			$601			$9,638	31.9	41.4	412	81		340126002710
494	Horace Mann Elementary School	Public	1-8	1215 83rd Street	North Bergen	07047	Hudson County	North Bergen School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(201) 295-2880	978	70	14	72.1%	63 (6.4%)	5 (0.5%)	907 (92.7%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	$4,973						$4,973	31.9	27.8	527	33		341146002886
495	Union County TEAMS Charter School	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	515 517 West Fourth Street	Plainfield	07060	Union County	Union County TEAMS Charter School-High School/College LA	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 754-9043	304	8	38	76.0%	0 (0.0%)	186 (61.2%)	110 (36.2%)	3 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	4 (1.3%)	$9,143			$631			$8,512	31.9	27.4	533	38		340008300573
496	Dover Middle School	Public	7-8	302 East McFarlan Street	Dover	07801	Morris County	Dover Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 989-2040	481	44	10.9	66.5%	26 (5.4%)	22 (4.6%)	426 (88.6%)	6 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	$6,203			$489			$5,714	31.8	35.8	458	38		340393000005
497	Joseph Battin School No 4	Public	PK, KG-8	501 Union Avenue	Elizabeth	07208	Union County	Elizabeth Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 436-6300	757	68	11.2	85.2%	47 (6.2%)	81 (10.7%)	607 (80.2%)	12 (1.6%)	2 (0.3%)	7 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	$10,619			$277			$10,342	31.7	30.4	506	9		340459005482
498	Henry E. Harris Community School	Public	PK, KG-8	135 Avenue C	Bayonne	07002	Hudson County	Bayonne School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(201) 858-5945	657	60	10.9	62.9%	314 (47.8%)	100 (15.2%)	184 (28.0%)	33 (5.0%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	23 (3.5%)	$10,495			$452			$10,043	31.7	45.6	378	120		340126002714
499	Garfield Middle School	Public	6-8	175 Lanza Ave	Garfield	07026	Bergen County	Garfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 272-7020	971	87	11.1	66.6%	321 (33.1%)	88 (9.1%)	547 (56.3%)	4 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	9 (0.9%)	$10,909			$146			$10,763	31.4	35.5	460	39		340576000470
500	Lincoln Avenue Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-7	216 Lincoln Ave	Orange	07050	Essex County	ORANGE BOARD OF EDUCATION School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 677-4130	728	63	11.5	71.8%	7 (1.0%)	323 (44.4%)	386 (53.0%)	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	6 (0.8%)	$9,475			$416			$9,059	31.4	22.4	571	71		341227002406

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for New Jersey

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New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for NJ student subgroups:

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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:

No Child Left Behind (NCLB): A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Impact on Education

Per-Pupil Spending: Understanding the Breakdown of Federal, State, and Local Funds

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.