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
571	Neptune Middle School	Public	6-8	2300 Heck Avenue	Neptune	07753	Monmouth County	Neptune Township School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 776-2200	595	65	9.1	71.6%	66 (11.1%)	253 (42.5%)	225 (37.8%)	8 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	42 (7.1%)	$13,565			$585			$12,980	23.1	26.5	540	31		341116004036
572	Woodlynne Boro Public School	Public	PK, KG-8	131 Elm Avenue	Woodlynne	08107	Camden County	Woodlynne School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(856) 962-8822	407	43	9.5	80.3%	15 (3.7%)	120 (29.5%)	245 (60.2%)	21 (5.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.5%)	$13,716			$1,631			$12,085	23.1	19.8	601	29		341827001700
573	Louise A. Spencer Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	66 Muhammad Ali Avenue	Newark	07108	Essex County	Newark Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 733-6931	774	61	12.6	86.2%	10 (1.3%)	251 (32.4%)	501 (64.7%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	6 (0.8%)	$12,119			$1,873			$10,246	22.9	23.7	559	14		341134002304
574	Abraham Lincoln School No. 14	Public	K-8	50 Grove Street	Elizabeth	07202	Union County	Elizabeth Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 436-5828	793	66	12.1	84.5%	44 (5.5%)	81 (10.2%)	648 (81.7%)	18 (2.3%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	$10,502			$228			$10,274	22.6	26.8	538	36		340459005508
575	John F Kennedy Elementary School	Public	1-8	1210 11th ST	North Bergen	07047	Hudson County	North Bergen School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(201) 974-7000	576	45	12.7	77.1%	28 (4.9%)	4 (0.7%)	517 (89.8%)	25 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	$6,067						$6,067	22.3	27.7	528	47		341146002888
576	Cedarbrook Elementary School	Public	K-8	1049 Central Ave	Plainfield	07060	Union County	Plainfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 731-4280	671	60	11.1	69.2%	5 (0.7%)	188 (28.0%)	463 (69.0%)	4 (0.6%)	2 (0.3%)	3 (0.4%)	6 (0.9%)	$9,658			$142			$9,516	22.3	16.5	637	61		341314005612
577	Madison Monroe School No. 16	Public	PK, KG-8	1091 North Ave	Elizabeth	07201	Union County	Elizabeth Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 436-5770	644	54	12	78.9%	108 (16.8%)	75 (11.6%)	443 (68.8%)	14 (2.2%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	$9,480			$213			$9,267	22.2	28.4	521	56		340459005512
578	Hopatcong Middle School	Public	4-7	1 David Road	Hopatcong	07843	Sussex County	Hopatcong Borough School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 398-8804	435	36	12.1	40.0%	219 (50.3%)	28 (6.4%)	165 (37.9%)	17 (3.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	5 (1.1%)	$11,825						$11,825	22.2	22.1	578			340744005905
579	Whitney E. Houston Academy	Public	PK, KG-8	215 Dodd St	East Orange	07017	Essex County	East Orange School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 266-5880	385	30	12.8	14.0%	4 (1.0%)	314 (81.6%)	58 (15.1%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	7 (1.8%)	$15,694			$451			$15,243	22.1	21.3	586	7		340423002050
580	Franklin L. Williams School	Public	6-8	222 Laidlaw Avenue	Jersey City	07306	Hudson County	Jersey City Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(201) 714-8340	906	73	12.4	81.9%	73 (8.1%)	65 (7.2%)	674 (74.4%)	87 (9.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	6 (0.7%)	$12,649			$746			$11,903	22	26.3	542	38		340783006114

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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

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Virtual Schools: The Future of Online Education

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.