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
451	First Avenue School	Public	PK, KG-8	214 First Ave	Newark	07107	Essex County	Newark Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 268-5240	1,084	76	14.2	85.9%	20 (1.8%)	58 (5.4%)	968 (89.3%)	14 (1.3%)	7 (0.6%)	14 (1.3%)	3 (0.3%)	$8,759			$532			$8,227	38.6	33.7	476	25		341134002274
452	Dr. Orlando Edreira Academy School No. 26	Public	PK, KG-8	1014 South Elmora Avenue	Elizabeth	07202	Union County	Elizabeth Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 436-5970	718	62	11.5	83.0%	38 (5.3%)	55 (7.7%)	621 (86.5%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$9,454			$197			$9,257	38.5	28.6	520	68		340459000245
453	Somerdale Park School	Public	PK, KG-8	301 Grace Street	Somerdale	08083	Camden County	Somerdale School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(856) 783-6261	447	43	10.3	55.5%	164 (36.7%)	95 (21.3%)	129 (28.9%)	27 (6.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	31 (6.9%)	$12,807			$615			$12,192	38.4	31.1	499	46		341500001660
454	Von E. Mauger Middle School	Public	6-8	Fisher Avenue	Middlesex	08846	Middlesex County	Middlesex Borough School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 317-6000	502	46	10.9	43.8%	181 (36.1%)	47 (9.4%)	220 (43.8%)	35 (7.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	18 (3.6%)	$9,479			$44			$9,435	38.4	40.2	422	32		341005003412
455	Englewood on the Palisades Charter School	Public, Charter	K-8	65 West Demarest Avenue	Englewood	07631	Bergen County	Englewood on the Palisades Charter School	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(201) 569-9765	306	26	11.7	46.7%	9 (2.9%)	97 (31.7%)	160 (52.3%)	21 (6.9%)	3 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (5.2%)	$11,407			$533			$10,874	38.2	46.7	371	84		340001400258
456	Passaic Arts and Science Charter School	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	7 St. Francis Way	Passaic	07410	Passaic County	Passaic Arts and Science Charter School	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(201) 773-9140	2,175	160	13.5	68.1%	99 (4.6%)	127 (5.8%)	1,807 (83.1%)	115 (5.3%)	9 (0.4%)	4 (0.2%)	14 (0.6%)	$9,416			$1,264			$8,152	38.2	32.9	481	25		340074503137
457	Ridge Street School	Public	PK, KG-8	735 Ridge St	Newark	07104	Essex County	Newark Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 268-5210	593	45	13.1	81.5%	7 (1.2%)	51 (8.6%)	530 (89.4%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	$10,099			$477			$9,622	37.4	42.6	399	58		341134002338
458	Elmora School No. 12	Public	PK, KG-8	638 Magie Ave	Elizabeth	07208	Union County	Elizabeth Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 436-5650	658	48	13.8	81.3%	42 (6.4%)	72 (10.9%)	529 (80.4%)	13 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	$9,954			$231			$9,723	37.1	39.6	423	35		340459005504
459	Central Regional Middle School	Public	7-8	509 Forest Hills Parkway	Bayville	08721	Ocean County	Central Regional School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 269-1100	680	64	10.6	38.8%	435 (64.0%)	31 (4.6%)	176 (25.9%)	7 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	29 (4.3%)	$10,102			$281			$9,821	36.6	34.2	472	13		340291005928
460	Samuel S. Yellin Elementary School	Public	4-8	111 Warwick Road	Stratford	08084	Camden County	Stratford School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(856) 783-1094	527	49	10.8	33.0%	285 (54.1%)	88 (16.7%)	112 (21.3%)	22 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	19 (3.6%)	$12,787			$488			$12,299	36.6	39.5	424	36		341587001670

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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:

Charter Schools vs Regular Public Schools: Understanding the Key Differences

Alternative Schools vs Public Schools: A Comparison

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.