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Christopher Columbus Middle School

Q: Is Christopher Columbus Middle School a good school?

Christopher Columbus Middle School ranks 528 th of 752 New Jersey middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

528^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 752 New Jersey Middle Schools

Better than 30% of New Jersey middle schools

Summary

Christopher Columbus Middle School is a public middle school located in Clifton, New Jersey, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 1,146 students. The school is part of the Clifton Public School District, which is ranked 457 out of 609 districts in New Jersey and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Christopher Columbus Middle School consistently ranks in the bottom half of New Jersey middle schools, typically ranking between 400-530 out of 652-752 schools. The school's performance on NJSLA assessments is significantly below the state averages across all grade levels and subject areas, with proficiency rates ranging from 36.3% to 42.8% in English Language Arts and 13.7% to 28.9% in Mathematics, compared to the state averages of 56.1% to 57.1% and 20.7% to 39.8%, respectively. The school's performance on NJSLA-S Science assessments is also very low, with proficiency rates ranging from 5.3% to 10.2%, compared to the state average of 18.6% to 19%.

Interestingly, nearby schools such as Thomas Jefferson Middle School in the Lodi School District and Passaic Gifted and Talented Academy School No. 20 in the Passaic City School District consistently outperform Christopher Columbus Middle School on NJSLA assessments, with proficiency rates ranging from 77.9% to 81.6% in English Language Arts and 28.1% to 60.5% in Mathematics. Additionally, the school has a relatively high per-student spending of $12,843, which is higher than the spending at some of the nearby higher-performing schools.

1,092

Students ?

9.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,843

Per pupil spending ?

74.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

350 Piaget Avenue
Clifton, NJ 07011

(973) 470-2360

District: Clifton Public School District

Students who attend Christopher Columbus Middle School usually attend:

High:

Clifton High School

Feeder schools for Christopher Columbus Middle School:

Elementary:	School #1
	School #12
	School #17
	School #3
	More...
	School #4
	School #8
	School #9

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

70.6%

White:

18.7%

Asian:

4.6%

See top rated New Jersey middle schools

Compare Christopher Columbus Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 25th percentile in 2015 → 30th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 5 percentile points since 2015

✓Small classes — about 9 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the New Jersey average (30% vs 43% meeting standards)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

!English Language Arts scores 18 pts below the New Jersey average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school30%

District avg31%

New Jersey avg43%

528^th of 752

New Jersey public middle schools ?

Bottom 30%▲ up 5 pts since 2015

From bottom 25% (2015) to bottom 30% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of New Jersey Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 2Middle Schools in the Clifton Public School District

457^th of 609Clifton 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	28.5	528 of 752	29.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	29.9	510 of 743	31.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	33.4	484 of 748	35.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	31.3	503 of 745	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2021	33.4	400 of 652	38.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	34.5	499 of 745	33.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	29.8	525 of 716	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	27.6	519 of 712	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	34.8	495 of 713	30.6%	★★☆☆☆
2015	26.2	536 of 713	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	25.8	554 of 717	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	23.8	552 of 704	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	20.1	562 of 677	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	20.4	570 of 684	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	18.0	575 of 677	15.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	27.5	531 of 664	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	27.0	504 of 640	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	27.5	505 of 631	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	21.3	503 of 615	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	20.3	493 of 599	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	23.3	473 of 588	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2003	16.8	488 of 574	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	32.1	248 of 359	30.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	18.6	306 of 352	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	39.9	204 of 361	43.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	41.6	199 of 356	44.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	43.2	149 of 291	48.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	50.1	142 of 326	56.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	41.3	183 of 326	43.9%	★★☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	19.2	177 of 204	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	7.6	186 of 200	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	21.7	162 of 201	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.7	178 of 200	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	16.0	133 of 147	9.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	17.3	167 of 199	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.8	160 of 200	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	46.2	153 of 343	55.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	35.1	203 of 320	36.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	35.6	181 of 288	37.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	40.7	144 of 270	46.7%	★★☆☆☆
2021	43.3	90 of 197	54.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	40.0	121 of 227	46.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	37.7	119 of 202	41.1%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	28.4	513 of 728	29.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	32.2	474 of 717	33.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	26.3	525 of 720	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	35.1	452 of 726	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2021	33.6	396 of 625	36.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	35.1	480 of 703	31.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	30.3	505 of 680	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	33.6	404 of 608	33.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	35.6	372 of 589	36.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	43.1	307 of 587	47.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	39.3	346 of 591	41.5%	★★☆☆☆
2021	46.4	219 of 480	54.4%	★★★☆☆
2019	39.8	311 of 524	40.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	32.1	362 of 504	28.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	39.9	366 of 613	40.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	45.2	301 of 584	48.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	52.9	207 of 568	63.6%	★★★☆☆
2022	48.7	230 of 549	58.1%	★★★☆☆
2021	49.0	194 of 467	58.5%	★★★☆☆
2019	47.3	266 of 541	50.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	41.1	304 of 522	41.8%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	29.5	501 of 726	31.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	30.6	489 of 719	32.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	35.2	449 of 718	37.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	31.4	480 of 730	34.2%	★★☆☆☆
2021	35.9	364 of 635	42.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	34.5	467 of 697	33.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	30.1	488 of 675	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	22.2	435 of 507	14.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.0	384 of 510	24.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.1	404 of 505	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.4	398 of 535	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	23.7	322 of 401	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	31.6	329 of 492	33.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	35.7	287 of 471	39.1%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	27.5	382 of 502	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	32.5	359 of 510	29.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	27.3	389 of 509	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.3	407 of 512	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	27.7	341 of 435	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	33.4	363 of 504	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	30.8	377 of 497	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆

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)55th percentile+26 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)40th percentile+11 vs school

Hispanic (2025)34th percentile+4 vs school

Male (2025)31st percentile~ school

African American (2025)31st percentile~ school

Female (2025)30th percentile~ school

White (2025)24th percentile-6 vs school

Special Education (2025)14th percentile-16 vs school

Asian (2025)13th percentile-17 vs school

By subject vs New Jersey (2024-2025) ?

Algebra I100%+54 vs state

English Language Arts39%-18 vs state

Mathematics22%-12 vs state

Science8%-11 vs state

5.0

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Schools Near Christopher Columbus Middle 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)						NJSLA Algebra I (2025)			NJSLA Geometry (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-S Science 8th 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 English Language Arts 7th Grade	NJSLA English Language Arts 8th Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 3rd Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 4th Grade	NJSLA Mathematics 5th 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 End of Course	NJSLA Geometry 8th Grade	NJSLA Geometry End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Christopher Columbus Middle School	Public	6-8	350 Piaget Avenue	Clifton	07011	Passaic County	Clifton Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 470-2360	1,092	120	9.1	74.1%	204 (18.7%)	35 (3.2%)	771 (70.6%)	50 (4.6%)	13 (1.2%)	2 (0.2%)	16 (1.5%)	28.5	528^th of 752 public middle schools	29.8%		29.9	510^th of 743 public middle schools	31.4%	18		8.1				36.3	37.2	42.8				23.8	28.9	13.7		100.0	100.0			$12,843	$593	$12,250
Classical Academy Charter School of Clifton	Public, Charter	5-8	1255 Main Avenue	Clifton	07011	Passaic County	Classical Academy Charter School of Clifton	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 278-7707	185	10	18.5	54.1%	58 (31.4%)	5 (2.7%)	93 (50.3%)	26 (14.1%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.1%)	52.6	328^th of 752 public middle schools	56.4%		59.4	281^st of 743 public middle schools	62.2%	47	18.8	12.0			25.0	51.8	51.8	63.8			18.8	39.3	48.1	27.8		72.7	72.7			$9,165	$577	$8,588
Woodrow Wilson Middle School	Public	6-8	1400 Van Houten Avenue	Clifton	07013	Passaic County	Clifton Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(973) 470-2348	1,255	115	10.8	56.1%	357 (28.4%)	58 (4.6%)	718 (57.2%)	96 (7.6%)	7 (0.6%)	3 (0.2%)	16 (1.3%)	41.6	423^rd of 752 public middle schools	43.8%		41.7	410^th of 743 public middle schools	44.8%	13		13.1				36.1	51.1	51.4				31.1	35.5	25.8		96.3	96.3			$12,567		$12,567
Garfield Middle School	Public	6-8	175 Lanza Ave	Garfield	07026	Bergen County	Garfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 272-7020	971	87	11.1	66.6%	321 (33.1%)	88 (9.1%)	547 (56.3%)	4 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	9 (0.9%)	31.4	499^th of 752 public middle schools	33.6%		35.5	460^th of 743 public middle schools	38.1%	39		9.7				47.0	45.3	42.4				23.3	26.2	13.5		84.8	84.8			$10,909	$146	$10,763
Passaic Gifted and Talented Academy School No. 20	Public	2-8	19 Henry Street	Passaic	07055	Passaic County	Passaic City School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 470-5500	742	55	13.4	100.0%	10 (1.3%)	13 (1.8%)	690 (93.0%)	26 (3.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.4%)	62.1	257^th of 752 public middle schools	65.8%		62.7	254^th of 743 public middle schools	65.8%	3	42.4	21.5	68.8	73.7	72.8	81.6	79.8	69.9	53.8	60.5	49.6	53.1	34.8		63.7	31.0	41.3	77.2	77.2	$7,620	$653	$6,967
Ellen Ochoa School Number 22	Public	4-6	95 Dayton Ave	Passaic	07055	Passaic County	Passaic City School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(973) 470-5500	613	54	11.3	99.7%	3 (0.5%)	14 (2.3%)	591 (96.4%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)								(n/a)	4.8			8.1	12.2	13.9				10.0	12.3	12.7
Muhammad Ali School Number 23	Public	7-8	63 Dayton Ave	Passaic	07055	Passaic County	Passaic City School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(973) 470-5500	442	53	8.3	99.3%	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.6%)	430 (97.3%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.7%)	7.2	744^th of 752 public middle schools	1.1%		5.3	743^rd of 743 public middle schools	0.0%	1		0.5					17.7	24.8					9.2			2.2	2.2
New Roberto Clemente	Public	6-8	482-506 Market Street	Paterson	07501	Passaic County	Paterson Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 321-0240	473	45	10.5	63.0%	3 (0.6%)	54 (11.4%)	413 (87.3%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7.5	742^nd of 752 public middle schools	1.3%		8.4	725^th of 743 public middle schools	2.4%	17		0.0				15.8	8.3	10.8				8.2	1.9	2.1		36.4	36.4			$13,069		$13,069
Memorial Middle School	Public	6-8	375 River Drive	Elmwood Park	07407	Bergen County	Elmwood Park School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(201) 796-8700	569	46	12.4	53.3%	168 (29.5%)	76 (13.4%)	272 (47.8%)	42 (7.4%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	8 (1.4%)	30.8	506^th of 752 public middle schools	32.7%		30.6	503^rd of 743 public middle schools	32.3%	3		5.6				54.7	46.9	48.6				20.8	25.0	5.3		53.8	53.8			$6,790	$1,062	$5,728
Young Men's Academy	Public	3-8	45 Smith Street	Paterson	07501	Passaic County	Paterson Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 321-2380	50	7	7.1	90.0%	0 (0.0%)	31 (62.0%)	18 (36.0%)	1 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)	10.0			30.0	10.0		30.8			30.0	0.0		7.7							$21,107		$21,107

Frequently Asked Questions about Christopher Columbus Middle School

How many students attend Christopher Columbus Middle School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,092 students attended Christopher Columbus Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Christopher Columbus Middle School?

Students at Christopher Columbus Middle School are 71% Hispanic, 19% White, 5% Asian, 3% African American, 1% Two or more races, 1% American Indian.

Is Christopher Columbus Middle School a good school?

Christopher Columbus Middle School ranks 528^th of 752 New Jersey middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

What district is Christopher Columbus Middle School in?

Clifton Public School District

What high school do graduates of Christopher Columbus Middle School attend?

Students who attend Christopher Columbus Middle School usually go on to attend Clifton High School

Rate Christopher Columbus Middle 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.