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University Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5

1196^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,347 New Jersey Elementary Schools

Better than 11% of New Jersey elementary schools

Summary

University Elementary School is a public elementary school in Irvington, New Jersey, serving grades PK-5 with 349 students. The school is part of the Irvington Public School District, which is ranked 598 out of 609 districts in the state and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

University Elementary School consistently ranks in the bottom 10-15% of New Jersey elementary schools based on the statewide SchoolDigger rankings. Its performance on NJSLA assessments is significantly below the state and district averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in 2024-2025, only 28.5% of 3rd graders, 38.4% of 4th graders, and 18.8% of 5th graders were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to the state averages of 44.9%, 53.6%, and 52.7%, respectively. The school also has high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 14.9% to 21.9% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the state average.

The challenges faced by University Elementary School are reflective of the broader issues within the Irvington Public School District. The nearby schools, such as Berkeley Terrace Elementary and Grove Street Elementary, also perform poorly on academic measures and have high rates of chronic absenteeism and free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. Addressing these challenges will require a comprehensive, district-wide approach to improving educational outcomes, reducing chronic absenteeism, and supporting students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

384

Students ?

15.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$9,913

Per pupil spending ?

80.2%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1 University Place
Irvington, NJ 07111

(973) 399-6826

District: Irvington Public School District

Students who attend University Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Union Avenue Middle School
	University Middle School
High:	Irvington High School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

72.1%

Hispanic:

26.6%

Asian:

0.5%

See top rated New Jersey elementary schools

Compare University Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 8th percentile in 2015 → 11th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the New Jersey average (21% vs 46% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (11th percentile)

!Mathematics scores 29 pts below the New Jersey average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school21%

District avg18%

New Jersey avg46%

1,196^th of 1,347

New Jersey public elementary schools ?

Bottom 11%▲ up 3 pts since 2015

From bottom 8% (2015) to bottom 11% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of New Jersey Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 8Elementary Schools in the Irvington Public School District

598^th of 609Irvington 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	13.5	1196 of 1347	11.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.1	1142 of 1338	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	10.9	1229 of 1342	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	10.9	1226 of 1345	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	14.1	1140 of 1317	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	7.7	1270 of 1360	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	4.2	1316 of 1353	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	2.7	1342 of 1352	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	3.8	1318 of 1346	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	9.4	1246 of 1357	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	8.4	1257 of 1363	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	7.2	1267 of 1367	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	20.3	1149 of 1363	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	10.4	1240 of 1360	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	16.1	1188 of 1354	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	12.7	1200 of 1346	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	39.2	261 of 463	43.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	44.6	254 of 469	45.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	34.3	317 of 463	31.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	32.3	349 of 494	29.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	36.6	297 of 456	34.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	29.6	403 of 522	22.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	21.4	406 of 517	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	39.2	330 of 597	44.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	44.4	248 of 559	55.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	73.3	101 of 499	79.8%	★★★★☆
2022	48.8	188 of 489	61.6%	★★★☆☆
2021	21.6	370 of 411	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	24.7	355 of 463	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	6.5	421 of 434	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	20.3	1052 of 1326	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.2	996 of 1317	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	10.5	1196 of 1318	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	10.3	1200 of 1326	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	16.6	1101 of 1290	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	7.8	1235 of 1331	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	4.4	1281 of 1333	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	71.1	237 of 1032	77.0%	★★★★☆
2024	9.2	922 of 989	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	33.9	745 of 1023	27.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.4	691 of 939	26.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	18.6	749 of 910	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.1	653 of 863	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	40.1	490 of 839	41.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	23.3	728 of 948	23.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	12.6	892 of 942	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	11.6	1188 of 1318	9.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.4	1160 of 1313	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	13.5	1142 of 1315	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	13.9	1147 of 1324	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	12.4	1138 of 1297	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	9.2	1220 of 1335	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	5.6	1273 of 1334	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	17.7	889 of 1023	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	12.4	942 of 989	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.1	829 of 958	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.8	875 of 949	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	20.9	789 of 1007	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.3	796 of 1001	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Hispanic (2025)77th percentile+66 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)45th percentile+34 vs school

African American (2025)44th percentile+32 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)27th percentile+16 vs school

Female (2025)21st percentile+9 vs school

Special Education (2025)13th percentile~ school

Male (2025)10th percentile~ school

By subject vs New Jersey (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts29%-22 vs state

Mathematics17%-29 vs state

Science8%-22 vs state

1.0

1 rating

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Schools Near University 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-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	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
University Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1 University Place	Irvington	07111	Essex County	Irvington Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 399-6826	384	25	15.3	80.2%	0 (0.0%)	277 (72.1%)	102 (26.6%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	13.5	1196^th of 1347 public elementary schools	11.2%		15.1	1142^nd of 1338 public elementary schools	14.6%	54	7.7		28.5	38.4	18.8				14.8	27.6	9.4				$9,913	$193	$9,720
Berkeley Terrace Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	787 Grove Street	Irvington	07111	Essex County	Irvington Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 399-6852	464	35	13.4	72.2%	2 (0.4%)	264 (56.9%)	196 (42.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	8.6	1275^th of 1347 public elementary schools	5.3%		10.9	1222^nd of 1338 public elementary schools	8.7%	53	7.9		9.7	34.2	21.6				9.1	19.5	13.1				$9,122	$125	$8,997
Grove Street Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	602 Grove Street	Irvington	07111	Essex County	Irvington Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 399-6865	443	28	15.8	90.3%	0 (0.0%)	351 (79.2%)	92 (20.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11.3	1225^th of 1347 public elementary schools	9.1%		13.1	1181^st of 1338 public elementary schools	11.7%	44	2.8		18.2	28.8	31.0				21.4	21.0	15.5				$9,455	$166	$9,289
Madison Avenue	Public	PK, KG-5	173 Madison Avenue	Irvington	07111	Essex County	Irvington Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 399-6871	524	32	16.6	69.8%	2 (0.4%)	316 (60.3%)	202 (38.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	2 (0.4%)	6.7	1298^th of 1347 public elementary schools	3.6%		6.3	1292^nd of 1338 public elementary schools	3.4%	6	6.4		9.5	24.6	12.7				11.1	14.5	11.1				$10,223	$135	$10,088
Burch Charter School of Excellence	Public, Charter	K-5	100 Linden Ave	Irvington	07111	Essex County	Burch Charter School of Excellence	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 373-3223	335	19	17.6	66.0%	0 (0.0%)	320 (95.5%)	15 (4.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15.2	1168^th of 1347 public elementary schools	13.3%		16.8	1118^th of 1338 public elementary schools	16.4%	50	18.4		23.5	27.8	18.4				27.5	20.4	26.3				$8,329	$796	$7,533
South 17th Street School	Public	PK, KG-8	619 S Seventeenth St	Newark	07103	Essex County	Newark Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 374-2570	368	29	12.6	90.8%	5 (1.4%)	225 (61.1%)	129 (35.1%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.6%)	17.9	1131^st of 1347 public elementary schools	16.0%		13.9	1167^th of 1338 public elementary schools	12.8%	36	5.9	7.4	34.6	40.0	17.6	26.4	21.2	40.7	26.9	22.6	39.4	8.8	12.8	22.2	$11,770	$879	$10,891
Fourteenth Avenue School	Public	PK, KG-8	26 Speedway Ave	Newark	07106	Essex County	Newark Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 733-6940	104	15	6.9	87.5%	3 (2.9%)	68 (65.4%)	30 (28.8%)	2 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)								(n/a)															$29,814	$844	$28,970
Thurgood Marshall Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	141 181 Montgomery Avenue	Irvington	07111	Essex County	Irvington Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 416-3824	393	29	13.7	70.2%	0 (0.0%)	294 (74.8%)	96 (24.4%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14.1	1190^th of 1347 public elementary schools	11.7%		13.9	1168^th of 1338 public elementary schools	12.7%	22	24.3		15.5	19.4	32.4				12.7	5.4	27.7				$9,596	$184	$9,412
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%)	20	1099^th of 1347 public elementary schools	18.4%		11.3	1219^th of 1338 public elementary schools	8.9%	120	9.3	0.0	41.3	37.2	42.6	27.8	28.1	20.9	30.4	21.6	24.1	7.4	10.9	2.4	$8,301	$622	$7,679
Lincoln Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	87 Richelieu Ter	Newark	07106	Essex County	Newark Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 374-2290	420	29	14.4	79.3%	0 (0.0%)	308 (73.3%)	99 (23.6%)	6 (1.4%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.2%)	9.4	1263^rd of 1347 public elementary schools	6.2%		7.5	1274^th of 1338 public elementary schools	4.8%	11	16.3	3.9	11.9	16.6	29.3	18.8	22.0	15.1	9.6	10.8	19.1	4.2	1.7	3.9	$10,024	$340	$9,684

Frequently Asked Questions about University Elementary School

What district is University Elementary School in?

Irvington Public School District

What is the racial makeup of University Elementary School?

Students at University Elementary School are 72% African American, 27% Hispanic.

How many students attend University Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 384 students attended University Elementary School.

What schools do graduates of University Elementary School attend?

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

Middle : Union Avenue Middle School
Middle : University Middle School
High : Irvington High School

Is University Elementary School a good school?

University Elementary School ranks in the bottom 11.2% of New Jersey elementary schools.

Rate University Elementary 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.