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Jefferson Elementary School

Q: Is Jefferson Elementary School a good school?

Jefferson Elementary School ranks 521 st of 1347 New Jersey elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

521^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,347 New Jersey Elementary Schools

Better than 61% of New Jersey elementary schools

Summary

Jefferson Elementary School is a public elementary school located in West Caldwell, New Jersey, serving students from kindergarten to 5th grade. The school is part of the Caldwell-West School District, which is ranked 175 out of 609 districts in the state and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Jefferson Elementary School has consistently ranked in the top 50% of New Jersey elementary schools over the past 10 years, with a SchoolDigger rating that has fluctuated between 3 and 4 stars out of 5. The school's proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics have been consistently higher than the state average, but its performance in Science has been relatively weaker. The school has shown strong performance for its Hispanic and Special Education student subgroups, ranking in the top 50% of New Jersey elementary schools in recent years.

Compared to nearby schools in the Caldwell-West School District, Jefferson Elementary School generally performs at a similar or slightly lower level, but it stands out with its relatively low percentage of free and reduced-price lunch recipients. The school's areas for improvement include addressing its fluctuating chronic absenteeism rate and enhancing its Science proficiency rates.

246

Students ?

10.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,355

Per pupil spending ?

17.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

85 Prospect St
West Caldwell, NJ 07006

(973) 228-5994

District: Caldwell-West School District

Students who attend Jefferson Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Grover Cleveland Middle School
High:	James Caldwell High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

67.9%

Hispanic:

24.0%

Asian:

3.3%

See top rated New Jersey elementary schools

Compare Jefferson Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 85th percentile in 2015 → 61st in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the New Jersey average (53% vs 46% meeting standards)

✓Above the New Jersey median (61st percentile)

✓Small classes — about 11 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 24 percentile points since 2015

!Near the bottom of Caldwell-West School District's ranking

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school53%

District avg57%

New Jersey avg46%

521^st of 1,347

New Jersey public elementary schools ?

Top 39%▼ down 24 pts since 2015

From top 15% (2015) to top 39% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of New Jersey Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 4Elementary Schools in the Caldwell-West School District

175^th of 609Caldwell-West School District among New Jersey districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	61.4	521 of 1347	61.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	67.4	452 of 1338	66.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	56.4	593 of 1342	55.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	62.8	521 of 1345	61.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	69.2	359 of 1317	72.7%	★★★★☆
2019	73.9	389 of 1360	71.4%	★★★★☆
2018	72.3	417 of 1353	69.2%	★★★☆☆
2017	74.7	374 of 1352	72.3%	★★★★☆
2016	73.2	394 of 1346	70.7%	★★★★☆
2015	84.7	198 of 1357	85.4%	★★★★☆
2014	80.8	224 of 1363	83.6%	★★★★☆
2013	79.8	246 of 1367	82.0%	★★★★☆
2012	69.2	514 of 1363	62.3%	★★★☆☆
2011	68.8	516 of 1360	62.1%	★★★☆☆
2010	79.2	228 of 1354	83.2%	★★★★☆
2009	75.6	317 of 1346	76.4%	★★★★☆
2008	68.6	500 of 1338	62.6%	★★★☆☆
2007	56.2	777 of 1329	41.5%	★★☆☆☆
2006	61.1	687 of 1314	47.7%	★★☆☆☆
2005	53.4	773 of 1303	40.7%	★★☆☆☆
2004	57.0	707 of 1298	45.5%	★★☆☆☆
2003	84.2	129 of 1204	89.3%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	64.7	469 of 1326	64.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	64.8	467 of 1317	64.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	68.0	432 of 1318	67.2%	★★★☆☆
2022	60.7	527 of 1326	60.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	65.0	394 of 1290	69.5%	★★★☆☆
2019	66.7	486 of 1331	63.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	67.7	465 of 1333	65.1%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	54.2	407 of 1032	60.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	36.4	609 of 982	38.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	68.7	234 of 953	75.4%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	56.9	557 of 1318	57.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	67.7	416 of 1313	68.3%	★★★☆☆
2023	45.0	714 of 1315	45.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	63.2	483 of 1324	63.5%	★★★☆☆
2021	70.4	331 of 1297	74.5%	★★★★☆
2019	77.4	288 of 1335	78.4%	★★★★☆
2018	74.2	356 of 1334	73.3%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2022	68.6	228 of 949	76.0%	★★★★☆
2021	61.6	237 of 868	72.7%	★★★★☆
2019	72.9	212 of 1007	78.9%	★★★★☆
2018	36.6	575 of 1001	42.6%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	50.9	493 of 970	49.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	61.2	361 of 963	62.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	56.5	420 of 975	56.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	55.1	433 of 976	55.6%	★★★☆☆
2021	61.8	309 of 964	67.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	63.7	366 of 1023	64.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	63.7	372 of 1022	63.6%	★★★☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Special Education (2022)76th percentile+15 vs school

Female (2025)65th percentile+3 vs school

Hispanic (2025)61st percentile~ school

Male (2025)58th percentile-4 vs school

White (2025)49th percentile-12 vs school

By subject vs New Jersey (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics59%+12 vs state

English Language Arts55%+4 vs state

Science29%~ state avg

★

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Schools Near Jefferson Elementary School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				NJSLA-S Science (2025)	NJSLA English Language Arts (2025)				NJSLA Mathematics (2025)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	NJSLA-S Science 5th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 3rd Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 4th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 5th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 6th Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 3rd Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 4th Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 5th Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 6th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Jefferson Elementary School	Public	K-5	85 Prospect St	West Caldwell	07006	Essex County	Caldwell-West School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(973) 228-5994	246	23	10.6	17.9%	167 (67.9%)	5 (2.0%)	59 (24.0%)	8 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.8%)	61.4	521^st of 1347 public elementary schools	61.3%		67.4	452^nd of 1338 public elementary schools	66.2%	69	29.2	55.8	55.3	53.5		65.1	51.3	58.2		$13,355	$255	$13,100
Wilson Elementary School	Public	K-5	71 Orton Rd	West Caldwell	07006	Essex County	Caldwell-West School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(973) 228-7173	214	20	10.7	9.3%	145 (67.8%)	6 (2.8%)	40 (18.7%)	7 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	15 (7.0%)	74.1	364^th of 1347 public elementary schools	73.0%		68.9	433^rd of 1338 public elementary schools	67.6%	69	39.0	58.9	61.8	61.5		73.5	58.8	74.4		$15,722	$291	$15,431
Essex Fells Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	102 Hawthorne Rd	Essex Fells	07021	Essex County	Essex Fells School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 226-0505	251	26	9.4		191 (76.1%)	4 (1.6%)	22 (8.8%)	17 (6.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (6.8%)	94.1	40^th of 1347 public elementary schools	97.0%		94.8	34^th of 1338 public elementary schools	97.5%	6	60.0	87.5	85.0	93.3	90.6	87.5	70.0	83.3	84.4	$16,556	$263	$16,293
Lincoln Elementary School	Public	K-5	18 Crane St	Caldwell	07006	Essex County	Caldwell-West School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 228-3987	253	20	12.6	14.2%	194 (76.7%)	6 (2.4%)	40 (15.8%)	3 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (4.0%)	77.3	327^th of 1347 public elementary schools	75.7%		72.3	392^nd of 1338 public elementary schools	70.7%	65	36.7	63.4	79.1	67.4		68.3	68.1	59.1		$14,951	$278	$14,673
Washington Elementary School	Public	K-5	201 Central Ave	West Caldwell	07006	Essex County	Caldwell-West School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(973) 228-8941	409	29	14.1	7.6%	306 (74.8%)	9 (2.2%)	58 (14.2%)	18 (4.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	17 (4.2%)	63.8	493^rd of 1347 public elementary schools	63.4%		69	427^th of 1338 public elementary schools	68.1%	66	35.5	48.6	67.2	59.7		46.1	65.6	59.7		$11,389	$36	$11,353
Lester C Noecker	Public	PK, KG-6	100 Passaic Ave	Roseland	07068	Essex County	Roseland School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 226-7644	451	44	10.2	6.4%	285 (63.2%)	25 (5.5%)	52 (11.5%)	68 (15.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	20 (4.4%)	91.8	83^rd of 1347 public elementary schools	93.8%		89.9	116^th of 1338 public elementary schools	91.3%	33	67.2	76.4	79.7	87.3	85.0	76.3	77.9	81.3	63.0	$13,133	$192	$12,941
Forest Avenue School	Public	K-4	118 Forest Ave	Verona	07044	Essex County	Verona Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(973) 571-6754	230	14	16.8		196 (85.2%)	1 (0.4%)	15 (6.5%)	9 (3.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (3.9%)	76	340^th of 1347 public elementary schools	74.8%		70.5	414^th of 1338 public elementary schools	69.1%	74		62.7	56.1			70.6	70.7			$14,134	$141	$13,993
Frederic N. Brown Elementary School	Public	K-4	125 Grove Ave	Verona	07044	Essex County	Verona Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 571-6753	247	20	12.5	1.2%	189 (76.5%)	5 (2.0%)	40 (16.2%)	3 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (4.0%)	60.8	525^th of 1347 public elementary schools	61.0%		64.2	487^th of 1338 public elementary schools	63.6%	38		56.5	66.7			58.7	37.7			$13,894	$139	$13,755
Kelly Elementary School	Public	K-5	555 Pleasant Valley Way	West Orange	07052	Essex County	West Orange Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	No	(973) 669-5452	451	50	9.0	43.0%	44 (9.8%)	155 (34.4%)	188 (41.7%)	13 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	50 (11.1%)	53.8	630^th of 1347 public elementary schools	53.2%		60	543^rd of 1338 public elementary schools	59.4%	87	32.7	48.2	53.9	51.8		46.4	58.8	44.8		$14,318		$14,318
Winston S. Churchill School	Public	3-6	233 Fairfield Road	Fairfield	07004	Essex County	Fairfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 227-2638	401	30	13.3	2.7%	302 (75.3%)	2 (0.5%)	60 (15.0%)	29 (7.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.0%)	76.5	333^rd of 1347 public elementary schools	75.3%		61.1	530^th of 1338 public elementary schools	60.4%	197	38.9	64.4	68.7	78.6	83.1	70.3	46.5	59.2	51.9	$10,351		$10,351

Frequently Asked Questions about Jefferson Elementary School

Is Jefferson Elementary School a good school?

Jefferson Elementary School ranks 521^st of 1347 New Jersey elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Jefferson Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 246 students attended Jefferson Elementary School.

What schools do graduates of Jefferson Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Jefferson Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Grover Cleveland Middle School
High : James Caldwell High School

What is the racial makeup of Jefferson Elementary School?

Students at Jefferson Elementary School are 68% White, 24% Hispanic, 3% Asian, 3% Two or more races, 2% African American.

What district is Jefferson Elementary School in?

Caldwell-West School District

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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.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.