Best Elementary Schools in New Jersey

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Find the best New Jersey elementary 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 1347)	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
1091	Clifton Ave Grade School	Public	3-6	625 Clifton Avenue	Lakewood	08701	Ocean County	Lakewood Township School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 905-3650	331	47	7	91.8%	15 (4.5%)	21 (6.3%)	286 (86.4%)	7 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	$14,783			$771			$14,012	20.6	22.2	1042	49		340822004638
1092	Phillipsburg Elementary School	Public	3-5	525 Warren Street	Phillipsburg	08865	Warren County	Phillipsburg School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 454-3400	621	74	8.4	77.0%	241 (38.8%)	156 (25.1%)	168 (27.1%)	5 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	51 (8.2%)	$15,299			$660			$14,639	20.5	21.1	1059	33		341296005860
1093	Ocean Gate Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	126 West Arverne Avenue	Ocean Gate	08740	Ocean County	Ocean Gate School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 269-3023	141	17	8.1	58.2%	101 (71.6%)	3 (2.1%)	27 (19.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (7.1%)	$18,531			$897			$17,634	20.5	25	1006	87		341203004678
1094	Downe Township Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	220 Main St	Newport	08345	Cumberland County	Downe Township School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(856) 447-4673	168	17	9.8	55.4%	130 (77.4%)	3 (1.8%)	28 (16.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (4.2%)	$15,041			$953			$14,088	20.2	12.4	1196	102		340396001832
1095	Number 1	Public	PK, KG-5	728 North Wood Ave.	Linden	07036	Union County	Linden Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 486-2668	454	37	12.2	75.6%	60 (13.2%)	126 (27.8%)	240 (52.9%)	8 (1.8%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (3.5%)	$9,841			$592			$9,249	20.2	19	1089	6		340861005562
1096	Deanna G. Taylor Academy	Public	2-6	614 Tillman St	Hillside	07205	Union County	Hillside Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 352-7664	202	20	10.1	72.8%	20 (9.9%)	111 (55.0%)	62 (30.7%)	3 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.5%)	3 (1.5%)	$13,412						$13,412	20.1	26.3	991	105		340729005542
1097	Thomas Jefferson School No. 1	Public	K-8	390 Van Houten Ave.	Passaic	07055	Passaic County	Passaic City School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 470-5501	423	39	10.9	98.1%	8 (1.9%)	9 (2.1%)	391 (92.4%)	12 (2.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.7%)	$11,482			$735			$10,747	20.1	16.8	1123	26		341254004838
1098	School #11	Public	PK, KG-5	147 Merselis Avenue	Clifton	07011	Passaic County	Clifton Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 470-2401	376	38	10	76.3%	81 (21.5%)	15 (4.0%)	251 (66.8%)	19 (5.1%)	3 (0.8%)	1 (0.3%)	6 (1.6%)	$12,583			$594			$11,989	20	18.2	1100	2		340330004782
1099	Speedway Avenue School	Public	PK, KG-8	701 South Orange Avenue	Newark	07106	Essex County	Newark Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 374-2740	525	41	12.9	89.1%	1 (0.2%)	412 (78.5%)	98 (18.7%)	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.8%)	2 (0.4%)	7 (1.3%)	$8,301			$622			$7,679	20	11.3	1219	120		341134002356
1100	Garfield Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	360 Belgrove Dr	Kearny	07032	Hudson County	Kearny	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(201) 955-5090	428	42	10.3	75.5%	89 (20.8%)	6 (1.4%)	308 (72.0%)	17 (4.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.9%)	$7,609			$569			$7,040	20	24.8	1009	91		340789002870

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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-S Science, NJSLA Algebra I 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:

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

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.