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
691	William B. Cruise Memorial School No. 11	Public	K-8	390 Gregory Ave.	Passaic	07055	Passaic County	Passaic City School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 470-5511	805	71	11.4	99.6%	1 (0.1%)	12 (1.5%)	784 (97.4%)	5 (0.6%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	$9,572			$759			$8,813	11.4	9.1	720	29		341254004854
692	Broad Street School	Public	K-8	251 West Broad Street	Bridgeton	08302	Cumberland County	Bridgeton City School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(856) 455-8030	784	74	10.6	95.0%	22 (2.8%)	51 (6.5%)	702 (89.5%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (0.9%)	$13,961			$1,315			$12,646	11.2	9.2	717	25		340225001786
693	Patrick F. Healy Middle School	Public	6-8	116 Hamilton St	East Orange	07017	Essex County	East Orange School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 266-5670	322	21	15.7	14.0%	20 (6.2%)	231 (71.7%)	67 (20.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	3 (0.9%)	$11,816			$431			$11,385	11.1	9.6	708	15		340423005931
694	McKinley Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	1 Colonnade Pl	Newark	07104	Essex County	Newark Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 268-5270	917	53	17.3	85.1%	11 (1.2%)	243 (26.5%)	656 (71.5%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.3%)	2 (0.2%)	$9,994			$791			$9,203	11	16.6	636	58		341134002318
695	Quarter Mile Lane School	Public	PK, KG-8	300 Quarter Mile Lane	Bridgeton	08302	Cumberland County	Bridgeton City School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(856) 455-8030	693	58	12	92.5%	16 (2.3%)	130 (18.8%)	534 (77.1%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.3%)	8 (1.2%)	$10,618			$590			$10,028	11	9.2	715	20		340225001800
696	Benjamin Franklin School No. 13	Public	K-8	248 Ripley Pl	Elizabeth	07206	Union County	Elizabeth Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 436-5700	392	36	10.8	88.0%	19 (4.8%)	78 (19.9%)	295 (75.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$11,847			$259			$11,588	11	12	688	8		340459005506
697	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	10.9	15.4	653	44		341134002356
698	Ollie Culbreth Junior School	Public	PK, KG-8	153 Union St	Jersey City	07304	Hudson County	Jersey City Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(201) 915-6430	335	38	8.8	85.4%	17 (5.1%)	215 (64.2%)	90 (26.9%)	4 (1.2%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	6 (1.8%)	$15,626			$510			$15,116	10.6	9.2	718	20		340783002796
699	School 26	Public	PK, KG-8	1 East 32nd Street	Paterson	07514	Passaic County	Paterson Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 321-0260	419	31	13.5	58.0%	4 (1.0%)	116 (27.7%)	293 (69.9%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.0%)	$8,427						$8,427	10.6	11.4	695	4		341269004920
700	Pathways Middle School	Public	6-8	40 Van Dyke Avenue	New Brunswick	08901	Middlesex County	New Brunswick School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(732) 745-5300	262			93.5%	1 (0.4%)	13 (5.0%)	247 (94.3%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								10.5			(n/a)		341122006177

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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

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

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.