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Clifton High School

Q: Is Clifton High School a good school?

Clifton High School ranks 320 th of 434 New Jersey high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

320^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 434 New Jersey High Schools

Better than 26% of New Jersey high schools

Summary

Clifton High School is a large public high school in Clifton, New Jersey, serving grades 9–12 and 3,150 students. SchoolDigger places it at the 26th percentile statewide for 2025–2026 and gives it 1 star; the Clifton Public School District is at the 20th percentile, also with 1 star. Chronic absenteeism is high at 25% in 2024–2025, compared with 17% in the district and 14% statewide. The clearest academic concern is Algebra I: 0% of 10th graders were proficient, and the End-of-Course result was 18%, well below the state’s 40%.

Clifton’s strongest reported result is 11th-grade NJGPA English Language Arts (ELA): 67% were proficient, compared with 76% statewide and 67% in the district; the nearby-school average was 60%. Clifton also scored above nearby averages in 11th-grade Science (15%, versus an average of 12%) and NJGPA math (45%, versus 40%). Results are not strong across every grade: 9th-grade ELA was 33%, 6 points below the nearby average of 39%. In Algebra I End-of-Course, Clifton’s 18% was below the district’s 29% and the state’s 40%. Clifton also has the largest enrollment among nearby schools: its 3,150 students are 666 more than at Passaic High School No. 12.

Results have changed unevenly over time: Algebra I End-of-Course proficiency rose from 12% in 2022–2023 to 18% in 2025–2026, while 9th-grade ELA fell from 35% to 33%. SchoolDigger’s overall statewide percentile has also fallen, from 36 in 2018–2019 to 26 in 2025–2026. Its student-teacher ratio was 14:1 in 2024–2025, compared with a nearby-school average of 13.4:1. Clifton reported 67% free/reduced lunch eligible in 2024–2025, above the 58% average among nearby schools reporting that same measure. One notable SchoolDigger subgroup result is African American students, whose statewide percentile is 47, higher than the school’s overall 26, though down from 63 in 2023–2024. The White students’ percentile fell from 31 in 2024–2025 to 10 in 2025–2026; these rankings describe SchoolDigger’s measure of the school’s effectiveness for each group.

3,150

Students ?

14.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,782

Per pupil spending ?

66.9%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

333 Colfax Avenue
Clifton, NJ 07013

(973) 470-2312

District: Clifton Public School District

Feeder schools for Clifton High School:

Elementary:	School #1
	School #11
	School #12
	School #13
	More...
	School #14
	School #15
	School #16
	School #17
	School #2
	School #3
	School #4
	School #5
	School #8
	School #9
Middle:	Christopher Columbus Middle School
	Woodrow Wilson Middle School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

66.4%

White:

24.3%

Asian:

4.6%

See top rated New Jersey high schools

Compare Clifton High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 36th percentile in 2016 → 26th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the New Jersey average (34% vs 48% meeting standards)

!High chronic absenteeism (25% vs 14% New Jersey)

!Ranking has slipped — down 10 percentile points since 2016

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school34%

District avg35%

New Jersey avg48%

320^th of 434

New Jersey public high schools ?

Bottom 26%▼ down 9 pts since 2016

From bottom 36% (2016) to bottom 26% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of New Jersey High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

486^th of 607Clifton 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
2026	27.3	320 of 434	26.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	30.2	313 of 434	27.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.9	317 of 429	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.7	321 of 422	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.4	318 of 415	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	25.2	296 of 405	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	32.4	265 of 416	36.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	36.7	239 of 415	42.4%	★★☆☆☆
2017	35.9	245 of 411	40.4%	★★☆☆☆
2016	33.9	263 of 409	35.7%	★★☆☆☆
2015	28.3	297 of 406	26.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	42.8	307 of 411	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	32.1	315 of 396	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	40.6	284 of 388	26.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	35.2	288 of 378	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	39.3	277 of 371	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	40.3	266 of 370	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	28.9	289 of 359	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	35.7	273 of 361	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	35.9	272 of 357	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	42.2	246 of 351	29.9%	★★☆☆☆
2004	44.1	242 of 348	30.5%	★★☆☆☆
2003	36.9	253 of 343	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2026	44.3	144 of 272	47.1%	★★☆☆☆
2025	52.0	117 of 283	58.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	56.0	103 of 282	63.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	29.1	178 of 250	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	36.8	149 of 256	41.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	65.6	46 of 247	81.4%	★★★★☆
2019	27.5	193 of 254	24.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.4	201 of 266	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2026	18.8	164 of 182	9.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	31.3	142 of 190	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.3	171 of 191	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	13.0	147 of 172	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.4	152 of 175	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	18.1	150 of 165	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	26.8	157 of 191	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.6	167 of 198	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2026	32.3	130 of 207	37.2%	★★☆☆☆
2025	34.8	133 of 215	38.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	31.0	127 of 191	33.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	32.0	105 of 161	34.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	28.8	100 of 137	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	51.2	32 of 101	68.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	41.9	62 of 138	55.1%	★★★☆☆
2018	55.0	39 of 146	73.3%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2026	26.2	331 of 428	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	36.4	288 of 426	32.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	40.6	251 of 420	40.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	29.5	268 of 416	35.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	25.5	296 of 414	28.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	25.4	304 of 402	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.5	295 of 408	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.8	281 of 403	30.3%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2026	31.8	281 of 399	29.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	32.2	289 of 406	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	30.4	299 of 403	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.2	300 of 385	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	24.8	292 of 382	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	29.7	276 of 374	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.3	252 of 364	30.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	38.0	213 of 368	42.1%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2026	32.5	271 of 371	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	37.8	242 of 377	35.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	37.2	227 of 358	36.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	31.6	233 of 344	32.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	30.6	215 of 324	33.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	43.6	166 of 326	49.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	39.4	190 of 347	45.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	41.4	184 of 345	46.7%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2026	26.4	319 of 426	25.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	28.3	311 of 426	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	29.8	293 of 419	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	20.7	312 of 414	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.5	307 of 410	25.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	27.7	283 of 402	29.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.8	274 of 407	32.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	32.5	255 of 405	37.0%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2026	24.2	285 of 358	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	25.5	286 of 359	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.7	306 of 361	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	28.7	228 of 339	32.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	23.2	301 of 344	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	24.8	262 of 333	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	21.6	292 of 349	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	28.1	265 of 355	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2026	18.9	307 of 341	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	36.4	240 of 347	30.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	23.8	286 of 345	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.2	268 of 335	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.0	269 of 335	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	21.0	285 of 336	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.0	237 of 339	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	33.7	211 of 340	37.9%	★★☆☆☆

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)

African American (2026)47th percentile+21 vs school

English Language Learner (2026)37th percentile+11 vs school

Hispanic (2026)30th percentile+3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)27th percentile~ school

Male (2026)25th percentile~ school

Female (2026)23rd percentile-4 vs school

Special Education (2026)20th percentile-6 vs school

White (2026)10th percentile-16 vs school

Asian (2026)10th percentile-16 vs school

By subject vs New Jersey (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts67%-9 vs state

Algebra II47%-5 vs state

Mathematics45%-16 vs state

Algebra I18%-14 vs state

Science15%-13 vs state

5.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a student
Friday, October 12, 2012

It is so very diverse. There are many unique and interesting students in this school. You could meet an asian, hispanic, muslim, african american all in one class. Now what kind of school offeres classes with students of all kinds of ethnic backgrounds? Clifton High surely does! Don't pay attention to the low test grades or the bad hspa scores they dont mean anything. In this school individuality is encouraged. So if you want to do antrhing Clifton High would let you. I'm telling you this school really deserves a 5 star rating Close Quote

Schools Near Clifton High School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				NJGPA English Language Arts (2026)	NJGPA Mathematics (2026)	NJSLA-S Science (2026)		NJSLA English Language Arts (2026)				NJSLA Mathematics (2026)			NJSLA Algebra I (2026)					NJSLA Geometry (2026)				NJSLA Algebra II (2026)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	NJGPA English Language Arts 11th Grade	NJGPA Mathematics 11th Grade	NJSLA-S Science 8th Grade	NJSLA-S Science 11th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 6th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 7th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 8th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 9th Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 6th Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 7th Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 8th Grade	NJSLA Algebra I 7th Grade	NJSLA Algebra I 8th Grade	NJSLA Algebra I 9th Grade	NJSLA Algebra I 10th Grade	NJSLA Algebra I End of Course	NJSLA Geometry 8th Grade	NJSLA Geometry 9th Grade	NJSLA Geometry 10th Grade	NJSLA Geometry End of Course	NJSLA Algebra II 9th Grade	NJSLA Algebra II 10th Grade	NJSLA Algebra II End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Clifton High School	Public	9-12	333 Colfax Avenue	Clifton	07013	Passaic County	Clifton Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(973) 470-2312	3,150	225	14.0	66.9%	764 (24.3%)	111 (3.5%)	2,092 (66.4%)	144 (4.6%)	19 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (0.4%)	27.3	320^th of 434 public high schools	26.3%		30.2	313^th of 434 public high schools	27.9%	7	66.7	45.1		15.0				33.2						18.6	0.0	18.2					47.4		47.4	$13,782	$1,406	$12,376
Passaic Academy for Science and Engineering	Public	6-12	291 Lafayette Avenue	Passaic	07055	Passaic County	Passaic City School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 470-5504	650	53	12.2	—	3 (0.5%)	13 (2.0%)	586 (90.2%)	43 (6.6%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.3%)	51.2	188^th of 434 public high schools	56.7%		59.5	146^th of 434 public high schools	66.4%	42			20.8	52.2	64.8	79.5	78.0	64.5	53.0	78.1		100.0	58.1			65.8		23.8		34.9	22.3		22.3	$22,307	$1,904	$20,403
Passaic Preparatory Academy	Public	6-12	252 Boulevard	Passaic	07055	Passaic County	Passaic City School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 470-5504	710	53	13.5	—	0 (0.0%)	19 (2.7%)	684 (96.3%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.3%)	39.3	265^th of 434 public high schools	38.9%		35.1	292^nd of 434 public high schools	32.7%	27		76.2	6.2	15.5	62.1	56.7	51.8	72.2	17.2	23.8		61.1	36.4			39.1	26.7	5.1		8.1	9.5		9.1	$21,447	$1,917	$19,530
Passaic High School No. 12	Public	9-12	255 Madison Street	Passaic	07055	Passaic County	Passaic City School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 470-5600	2,484	166	15.0	—	20 (0.8%)	93 (3.7%)	2,342 (94.3%)	18 (0.7%)	2 (0.1%)	1 (0.0%)	8 (0.3%)	5.3	432^nd of 434 public high schools	0.5%		5.9	431^st of 434 public high schools	0.7%	1	38.4	15.9		6.0				10.0						2.8		2.7		0.5	0.0	0.4				$21,076	$1,694	$19,382
Garfield High School	Public	9-12	500 Palisade Ave	Garfield	07026	Bergen County	Garfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 340-5010	1,258	95	13.2	60.6%	351 (27.9%)	122 (9.7%)	759 (60.3%)	12 (1.0%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	8 (0.6%)	16.8	378^th of 434 public high schools	12.9%		21	354^th of 434 public high schools	18.4%	24	60.5	31.1		10.5				34.0						8.4	0.0	7.8		15.2	0.0	10.0				$18,323	$692	$17,631
Passaic Valley Regional High School	Public	9-12	100 East Main Street	Little Falls	07424	Passaic County	Passaic Valley Regional High School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 890-2500	1,093	82	13.2	36.4%	530 (48.5%)	41 (3.8%)	443 (40.5%)	57 (5.2%)	2 (0.2%)	2 (0.2%)	18 (1.6%)	34.5	283^rd of 434 public high schools	34.8%		40.3	263^rd of 434 public high schools	39.4%	20	74.9	47.6		14.1				49.8						12.9		12.9		60.0		60.0				$22,470	$241	$22,229
International High School	Public	9-12	200 Grand Street	Paterson	07501	Passaic County	Paterson Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 321-2280	650	52	12.5	76.6%	32 (4.9%)	100 (15.4%)	478 (73.5%)	39 (6.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	39	266^th of 434 public high schools	38.7%		25.7	334^th of 434 public high schools	23.0%	68	81.6	62.4		12.4				37.6						22.8		22.8		18.5		18.5				$24,692	$1,033	$23,659
Alternative High School	Public	9-12	350 Market Street	Paterson	07501	Passaic County	Paterson Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 321-0110	81	21	3.8	69.1%	0 (0.0%)	47 (58.0%)	34 (42.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)	11.1																							$48,610	$4,287	$44,323
Eastside High School	Public	9-12	150 Park Avenue	Paterson	07501	Passaic County	Paterson Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 321-2354	2,073	130	15.9	58.3%	24 (1.2%)	327 (15.8%)	1,717 (82.8%)	4 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.0%)	6.3	425^th of 434 public high schools	2.1%		6.1	429^th of 434 public high schools	1.2%	4	26.5	24.4		1.9				6.7						4.2		4.2								$22,253	$933	$21,320
Wallington Junior Senior High School	Public	7-12	234 Main Ave	Wallington	07057	Bergen County	Wallington Boro School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(973) 777-0808	545	41	13.1	48.4%	318 (58.3%)	11 (2.0%)	196 (36.0%)	17 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	41.1	254^th of 434 public high schools	41.5%		48.7	206^th of 434 public high schools	52.5%	48	71.4	51.0	25.3	14.6		56.7	69.5	50.6		48.1	45.6		96.3	25.8		46.2		47.8		44.0				$12,932	$96	$12,836

Frequently Asked Questions about Clifton High School

Clifton High School is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : School #1
Elementary : School #11
Elementary : School #12
Elementary : School #13
Elementary : School #14
Elementary : School #15
Elementary : School #16
Elementary : School #17
Elementary : School #2
Elementary : School #3
Elementary : School #4
Elementary : School #5
Elementary : School #8
Elementary : School #9
Middle : Christopher Columbus Middle School
Middle : Woodrow Wilson Middle School

What district is Clifton High School in?

Clifton Public School District

Is Clifton High School a good school?

Clifton High School ranks 320^th of 434 New Jersey high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Rate Clifton High School!

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