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Columbus Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-4

1088^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,347 New Jersey Elementary Schools

Better than 19% of New Jersey elementary schools

Summary

Columbus Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Carteret, New Jersey, serving grades PK-4 with a total enrollment of 625 students. The school is part of the Carteret Public School District, which is ranked 484 out of 609 districts in New Jersey and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

The analysis of Columbus Elementary School's data reveals several areas of concern, particularly in academic performance. The school consistently ranks in the bottom 20% of New Jersey elementary schools, with low proficiency rates on NJSLA tests that are significantly below the state and district averages. For example, in 2024-2025, only 37.5% of 3rd graders and 28.4% of 4th graders were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to the state averages of 44.9% and 53.6%, respectively. In mathematics, the proficiency rates are also low, with only 32.4% of 3rd graders and 22.8% of 4th graders meeting or exceeding the standards, compared to the state averages of 49.8% and 46.7%. The school also has a high chronic absenteeism rate, ranging from 14.9% to 20.1% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the state average.

Interestingly, the nearby Private Nicholas Minue Elementary School, which is also part of the Carteret Public School District, performs significantly better than Columbus Elementary School on academic measures, ranking in the top 50% of New Jersey elementary schools. Similarly, Nathan Hale Elementary School, another Carteret public school, outperforms Columbus Elementary School on academic measures, ranking in the top 50-60% of New Jersey elementary schools. These comparisons suggest that there may be opportunities for Columbus Elementary School to learn from its higher-performing counterparts within the district.

642

Students ?

11.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$3,895

Per pupil spending ?

75.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1 Carteret Avenue
Carteret, NJ 07008

(732) 541-8960

District: Carteret Public School District

Students who attend Columbus Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Carteret Middle School
High:	Carteret High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

49.5%

African American:

23.7%

Asian:

16.0%

See top rated New Jersey elementary schools

Compare Columbus Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 16th percentile in 2015 → 19th in 2025

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 11 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the New Jersey average (30% vs 49% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (19th percentile)

!Mathematics scores 21 pts below the New Jersey average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school30%

District avg37%

New Jersey avg49%

1,088^th of 1,347

New Jersey public elementary schools ?

Bottom 19%▲ up 3 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of New Jersey Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 3Elementary Schools in the Carteret Public School District

484^th of 609Carteret Public 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	20.7	1088 of 1347	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.9	1132 of 1338	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.7	1095 of 1342	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.9	1105 of 1345	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	20.9	1013 of 1317	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	14.6	1179 of 1360	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.4	1113 of 1353	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	22.6	1072 of 1352	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	36.3	894 of 1346	33.6%	★★☆☆☆
2015	18.2	1134 of 1357	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	28.9	1061 of 1363	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	27.1	1079 of 1367	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	30.4	1057 of 1363	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	29.3	1068 of 1360	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	28.3	1090 of 1354	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	25.1	1109 of 1346	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	28.9	1083 of 1338	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	38.1	1004 of 1329	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	45.6	892 of 1314	32.1%	★★☆☆☆
2005	28.2	1055 of 1303	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	16.4	1127 of 1298	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2003	28.7	921 of 1204	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	49.8	205 of 463	55.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	47.6	232 of 469	50.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	62.2	146 of 463	68.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	41.7	287 of 494	41.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	61.0	124 of 456	72.8%	★★★★☆
2019	46.9	272 of 522	47.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	40.9	282 of 517	45.5%	★★☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	2.9	311 of 330	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	3.9	310 of 340	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.3	295 of 346	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	5.6	310 of 348	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	6.0	323 of 339	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	2.9	328 of 370	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	5.0	323 of 370	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	64.5	155 of 597	74.0%	★★★★☆
2024	52.2	183 of 559	67.3%	★★★☆☆
2023	35.6	297 of 499	40.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	47.1	201 of 489	58.9%	★★★☆☆
2021	41.5	190 of 411	53.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	46.9	207 of 463	55.3%	★★★☆☆
2018	44.0	229 of 434	47.2%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	24.4	1001 of 1326	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	17.6	1082 of 1317	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.1	932 of 1318	29.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.6	1058 of 1326	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	27.5	901 of 1290	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	17.4	1121 of 1331	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	29.1	992 of 1333	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	37.0	637 of 1032	38.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	19.9	826 of 989	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.3	783 of 982	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	23.1	746 of 953	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	34.7	599 of 896	33.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	18.7	731 of 899	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	30.5	620 of 870	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	41.6	615 of 1023	39.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	38.6	559 of 939	40.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	38.9	530 of 910	41.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	30.4	605 of 863	29.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	51.6	331 of 839	60.5%	★★★☆☆
2019	30.9	659 of 948	30.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	40.7	601 of 942	36.2%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	18.7	1088 of 1318	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.4	1092 of 1313	16.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	14.2	1131 of 1315	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.4	1060 of 1324	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	18.0	1039 of 1297	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	14.3	1152 of 1335	13.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.0	1143 of 1334	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	12.7	970 of 1023	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	14.7	899 of 989	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	17.8	800 of 958	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	30.4	609 of 949	35.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	31.7	554 of 868	36.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	17.7	844 of 1007	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.0	903 of 1001	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	17.8	841 of 970	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	7.3	908 of 963	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	10.8	896 of 975	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	2.9	979 of 1023	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

English Language Learner (2025)74th percentile+55 vs school

African American (2025)56th percentile+36 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)40th percentile+21 vs school

Hispanic (2025)38th percentile+19 vs school

Female (2025)25th percentile+5 vs school

Male (2025)17th percentile~ school

White (2025)13th percentile-6 vs school

Asian (2025)6th percentile-13 vs school

Special Education (2025)5th percentile-14 vs school

By subject vs New Jersey (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts33%-16 vs state

Mathematics28%-21 vs state

★

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Schools Near Columbus 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
Columbus Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	1 Carteret Avenue	Carteret	07008	Middlesex County	Carteret Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 541-8960	642	57	11.3	75.4%	44 (6.9%)	152 (23.7%)	318 (49.5%)	103 (16.0%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	22 (3.4%)	20.7	1088^th of 1347 public elementary schools	19.2%		15.9	1132^nd of 1338 public elementary schools	15.4%	44		37.5	28.4			32.4	22.8			$3,895	$308	$3,587
Nathan Hale Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	678 Roosevelt Avenue	Carteret	07008	Middlesex County	Carteret Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 541-8960	436	39	11.2	82.6%	33 (7.6%)	43 (9.9%)	285 (65.4%)	59 (13.5%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (3.2%)	42.8	773^rd of 1347 public elementary schools	42.6%		30.2	942^nd of 1338 public elementary schools	29.6%	169		50.0	52.2			41.3	36.1			$5,184	$429	$4,755
Port Reading Avenue Elementary School	Public	K-5	Turner Street	Port Reading	07064	Middlesex County	Woodbridge Township School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 602-8409	385	36	10.8	56.6%	91 (23.6%)	29 (7.5%)	193 (50.1%)	64 (16.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.1%)	38	845^th of 1347 public elementary schools	37.3%		33.2	899^th of 1338 public elementary schools	32.8%	54	31.0	31.7	53.0	43.9		33.3	38.8	41.4		$4,841		$4,841
Private Nicholas Minue Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	83 Post Blvd	Carteret	07008	Middlesex County	Carteret Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 541-8960	529	47	11.1	71.5%	58 (11.0%)	57 (10.8%)	184 (34.8%)	210 (39.7%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (3.4%)	33.1	909^th of 1347 public elementary schools	32.5%		47	709^th of 1338 public elementary schools	47.0%	200		34.0	50.0			44.6	26.4			$4,949	$301	$4,648
Matthew Jago Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	99 Central Avenue	Sewaren	07077	Middlesex County	Woodbridge Township School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 602-8428	425	47	9.0	46.8%	163 (38.4%)	45 (10.6%)	166 (39.1%)	43 (10.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.9%)	25.3	1018^th of 1347 public elementary schools	24.4%		18.8	1091^st of 1338 public elementary schools	18.5%	73	11.6	35.3	46.2	25.6		45.1	25.0	23.3		$6,230		$6,230
Avenel Street Elementary School	Public	K-5	Avenel Street	Avenel	07001	Middlesex County	Woodbridge Township School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 602-8504	403	29	13.8	55.1%	89 (22.1%)	115 (28.5%)	125 (31.0%)	73 (18.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	36.6	862^nd of 1347 public elementary schools	36.0%		36.7	845^th of 1338 public elementary schools	36.8%	17	19.6	41.4	44.0	36.6		57.8	43.2	31.2		$4,286		$4,286
Grover Cleveland Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-6	486 E Milton Ave	Rahway	07065	Union County	Rahway Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 396-1040	453	41	11.0	66.7%	23 (5.1%)	213 (47.0%)	179 (39.5%)	17 (3.8%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (3.8%)	33.4	902^nd of 1347 public elementary schools	33.0%		20	1073^rd of 1338 public elementary schools	19.8%	171	27.5	22.9	60.7	62.8	41.2	18.6	34.4	35.3	16.2	$12,500	$257	$12,243
Woodbine Avenue Elementary School	Public	K-5	Woodbine Avenue	Avenel	07001	Middlesex County	Woodbridge Township School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 602-8523	401	37	10.7	49.9%	44 (11.0%)	83 (20.7%)	85 (21.2%)	180 (44.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.2%)	43.9	755^th of 1347 public elementary schools	43.9%		46.4	716^th of 1338 public elementary schools	46.5%	39	25.4	39.3	43.5	54.6		52.5	46.9	37.4		$4,196		$4,196
Ross Street Elementary School	Public	K-5	Ross Street	Woodbridge	07095	Middlesex County	Woodbridge Township School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 602-8511	633	52	12.1	60.8%	132 (20.9%)	109 (17.2%)	290 (45.8%)	82 (13.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (3.2%)	9.5	1262^nd of 1347 public elementary schools	6.3%		9.5	1245^th of 1338 public elementary schools	7.0%	17	13.9	13.8	27.9	14.0		21.9	16.3	6.4		$4,527		$4,527
Number 2	Public	PK, KG-5	1700 South Wood Avenue	Linden	07036	Union County	Linden Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 862-3287	602	60	10.0	78.7%	46 (7.6%)	128 (21.3%)	389 (64.6%)	16 (2.7%)	2 (0.3%)	3 (0.5%)	18 (3.0%)	16.4	1158^th of 1347 public elementary schools	14.0%		13.3	1179^th of 1338 public elementary schools	11.9%	21	10.3	27.7	27.1	22.1		43.1	11.5	10.3		$9,950	$510	$9,440

Frequently Asked Questions about Columbus Elementary School

What district is Columbus Elementary School in?

Carteret Public School District

What is the racial makeup of Columbus Elementary School?

Students at Columbus Elementary School are 50% Hispanic, 24% African American, 16% Asian, 7% White, 3% Two or more races.

Is Columbus Elementary School a good school?

Columbus Elementary School ranks in the bottom 19.2% of New Jersey elementary schools.

How many students attend Columbus Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 642 students attended Columbus Elementary School.

What schools do graduates of Columbus Elementary School attend?

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

Middle : Carteret Middle School
High : Carteret High School

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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.