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Rafael Hernandez School

Public Grades PK, KG-8
1240th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,331 New Jersey Elementary Schools
Better than 7% of New Jersey elementary schools
Summary

Rafael Hernandez School is a 713-student PK–8 school in Newark, in the Newark Public School District, with several nearby schools serving the surrounding area. The clearest concern is low academic performance across subjects, especially English Language Arts (ELA): in 2025–2026, the school’s average proficiency was 17% in ELA, 16% in math and 3% in science.

Compared with nearby schools, ELA is the broadest weakness: the school’s ELA average was 17%, versus 37% for six nearby schools with results across grades 3–8, and was also below the district’s 28% and state’s 51%. Math was 16%, compared with 31% for those nearby schools, 22% for the district and 40% for the state. Science averaged 3%, versus 11% at nearby schools, 8% in the district and 23% statewide. A relative bright spot is third-grade math: the school scored 32%, above the district’s 29% and higher than four of six nearby schools with comparable results, though below the state’s 49%.

Math has improved over time, rising 9 percentage points from 2022–2023 to 2025–2026, while ELA fell 4 points and science fell 3 points over the same period. The school’s overall SchoolDigger standing improved from the 2nd percentile in 2024–2025 to the 7th in 2025–2026, but it still has 0 stars and ranks 1,240th of 1,331 schools; nearby schools with rankings are at the 11th to 58th percentiles. SchoolDigger’s subgroup rankings show a relative bright spot for English Language Learner Students: the school ranks at the 26th percentile for that group, compared with the 7th percentile overall. Its Special Education Students ranking dropped from the 33rd percentile in 2023–2024 to the 7th in 2025–2026. For context, the 2024–2025 student-teacher ratio was 16.2, and 83% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible, close to the nearby-school average of 83%.

713
Students ?
16.2
Student/teacher ratio ?
$19,176
Per pupil spending ?
82.9%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
 345 Broadway
       Newark, NJ  07104

(973) 481-5004

District: Newark Public School District


Students who attend Rafael Hernandez School usually attend:

High:    Barringer High School
    Central High School
    East Side High School
    Malcolm X Shabazz High School
    More...
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
80.6%
African American:
15.0%
White:
3.1%
more
 See top rated New Jersey elementary schools

 Compare Rafael Hernandez School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 2nd percentile in 2016 → 7th in 2026
Strengths
✓Ranking is trending up — up 5 percentile points since 2016
Worth a look
!Test scores below the New Jersey average (15% vs 43% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (7th percentile)
!English Language Arts scores 35 pts below the New Jersey average
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school15%
District avg24%
New Jersey avg43%
Elementary school
1,240th of 1,331
New Jersey public elementary schools ?
Bottom 7%▲ up 5 pts since 2016
From bottom 2% (2016) to bottom 7% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of New Jersey Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
Middle school
684th of 743
New Jersey public middle schools ?
Bottom 8%▲ up 2 pts since 2016
See the entire ranking list of New Jersey Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
30th of 42Elementary Schools in the Newark Public School District
547th of 607Newark 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)
Elementary school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew Jersey percentileRating
20269.81240 of 13316.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20255.61315 of 13472.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20248.01270 of 13385.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20237.51282 of 13424.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20227.11304 of 13453.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20215.21303 of 13171.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20195.81297 of 13604.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20185.41305 of 13533.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20173.91317 of 13522.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20163.81319 of 13462.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20155.01314 of 13573.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20146.11282 of 13635.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20133.01327 of 13672.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20127.81266 of 13637.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201141.2944 of 136030.6%★★☆☆☆
201028.81080 of 135420.2%★☆☆☆☆
20094.71283 of 13464.7%☆☆☆☆☆
200826.31110 of 133817.0%★☆☆☆☆
20071.61302 of 13292.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20066.41220 of 13147.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20053.41252 of 13033.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20045.81214 of 12986.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20033.61134 of 12045.8%☆☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew Jersey percentileRating
202622.6366 of 43415.7%★☆☆☆☆
202517.4380 of 46317.9%★☆☆☆☆
202421.7394 of 46916.0%★☆☆☆☆
202325.8376 of 46318.8%★☆☆☆☆
202220.5427 of 49413.6%★☆☆☆☆
202113.6452 of 4560.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201912.8499 of 5224.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201814.9435 of 51715.9%★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew Jersey percentileRating
202628.8429 of 58126.2%★☆☆☆☆
202515.7553 of 5977.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202422.3475 of 55915.0%★☆☆☆☆
201932.9301 of 46335.0%★★☆☆☆
201830.6305 of 43429.7%★★☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew Jersey percentileRating
202610.21224 of 13116.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20255.71272 of 13264.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20249.01206 of 13178.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202310.41197 of 13189.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20227.91243 of 13266.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20215.91281 of 12900.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20196.21260 of 13315.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20184.61279 of 13334.1%☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew Jersey percentileRating
202621.7857 of 99113.5%★☆☆☆☆
202511.5932 of 10329.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202415.7862 of 98912.8%★☆☆☆☆
202312.9889 of 9829.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202212.3867 of 9539.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202110.2893 of 8960.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201914.8765 of 89914.9%★☆☆☆☆
201814.9754 of 87013.3%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew Jersey percentileRating
202619.9898 of 100210.4%★☆☆☆☆
202511.0983 of 10233.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202411.3824 of 93912.2%★☆☆☆☆
202113.0749 of 83910.7%★☆☆☆☆
201918.0768 of 94819.0%★☆☆☆☆
201813.9886 of 9425.9%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew Jersey percentileRating
202614.81145 of 130612.3%★☆☆☆☆
20257.41244 of 13185.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202410.01201 of 13138.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20237.41244 of 13155.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20227.61265 of 13244.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20216.01260 of 12972.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20197.51243 of 13356.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20188.01235 of 13347.4%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew Jersey percentileRating
202614.8903 of 9706.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202514.1945 of 10237.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202428.3663 of 98933.0%★★☆☆☆
202320.4758 of 95820.9%★☆☆☆☆
202217.5815 of 94914.1%★☆☆☆☆
201913.2934 of 10077.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201813.3912 of 10018.9%☆☆☆☆☆
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew Jersey percentileRating
202611.1684 of 7437.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20259.1723 of 7523.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202418.1621 of 74316.4%★☆☆☆☆
202318.3616 of 74817.6%★☆☆☆☆
202213.1668 of 74510.3%★☆☆☆☆
20218.2635 of 6522.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20197.9693 of 7457.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20187.0682 of 7164.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201713.8615 of 71213.6%★☆☆☆☆
20168.0670 of 7136.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20159.2666 of 7136.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20144.5668 of 7176.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20135.0658 of 7046.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20128.1617 of 6778.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201122.9558 of 68418.4%★☆☆☆☆
201021.6560 of 67717.3%★☆☆☆☆
20092.6642 of 6643.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20086.2590 of 6407.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20073.0605 of 6314.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20062.4587 of 6154.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20051.7577 of 5993.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20043.2551 of 5886.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20031.5559 of 5742.6%☆☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew Jersey percentileRating
202412.1328 of 3526.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202323.7310 of 36114.1%★☆☆☆☆
202225.2294 of 35617.4%★☆☆☆☆
202115.8280 of 2913.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201917.1302 of 3267.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20189.9303 of 3267.1%☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew Jersey percentileRating
202619.3311 of 3367.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202520.6316 of 3437.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202429.2247 of 32022.8%★☆☆☆☆
202244.7126 of 27053.3%★★★☆☆
201932.8144 of 22736.6%★★☆☆☆
201826.9148 of 20226.7%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew Jersey percentileRating
202611.1671 of 7166.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20259.0695 of 7284.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202420.3584 of 71718.5%★☆☆☆☆
202320.7572 of 72020.6%★☆☆☆☆
202214.7645 of 72611.2%★☆☆☆☆
202111.5581 of 6257.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20197.8660 of 7036.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20187.4646 of 6805.0%☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew Jersey percentileRating
202616.8534 of 5899.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202513.2570 of 6086.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202425.9469 of 58920.4%★☆☆☆☆
202332.0402 of 58731.5%★★☆☆☆
202217.6529 of 59110.5%★☆☆☆☆
202116.4453 of 4805.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201913.5477 of 5249.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201811.0474 of 5046.0%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew Jersey percentileRating
202618.2532 of 5909.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202513.7577 of 6135.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202225.5420 of 54923.5%★☆☆☆☆
201918.2447 of 54117.4%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew Jersey percentileRating
202617.2613 of 71414.1%★☆☆☆☆
202511.0682 of 7266.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202418.8605 of 71915.9%★☆☆☆☆
202317.6600 of 71816.4%★☆☆☆☆
202212.6667 of 7308.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20219.0610 of 6353.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201910.1642 of 6977.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20187.3646 of 6754.3%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNew Jersey percentileRating
202640.4266 of 48244.8%★★☆☆☆
202526.2394 of 50722.3%★☆☆☆☆
202428.4378 of 51025.9%★☆☆☆☆
202319.8463 of 5058.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202217.5522 of 5352.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201918.2447 of 4929.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201815.1452 of 4714.0%☆☆☆☆☆
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)
Elementary school
English Language Learner (2026)26th percentile+19 vs school
African American (2026)16th percentile+9 vs school
Hispanic (2026)14th percentile+7 vs school
Male (2026)12th percentile+5 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)10th percentile+4 vs school
Special Education (2026)7th percentile~ school
Female (2026)7th percentile~ school
Middle school
Special Education (2026)45th percentile+37 vs school
Male (2026)14th percentile+6 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)10th percentile~ school
Hispanic (2026)9th percentile~ school
English Language Learner (2026)7th percentile~ school
African American (2024)7th percentile-10 vs school
Female (2026)6th percentile~ school
By subject vs New Jersey (2025-2026) ?
Mathematics17%-25 vs state
English Language Arts16%-35 vs state
Science3%-20 vs state

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What people are saying
by a student
Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Open Quote I use to be a student there, I was the first group to graduate in 1995 and it was the best experience ever. Close Quote




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Frequently Asked Questions about Rafael Hernandez School

Students at Rafael Hernandez School are 81% Hispanic, 15% African American, 3% White.

In the 2024-25 school year, 713 students attended Rafael Hernandez School.

Students who attend Rafael Hernandez School usually go on to attend:

High : Barringer High School
High : Central High School
High : East Side High School
High : Malcolm X Shabazz High School
High : Technology High School
High : Weequahic High School
High : West Side High School

Rafael Hernandez School ranks in the bottom 6.8% of New Jersey elementary schools.

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Latest New Jersey data All new data »
2025–26 NJGPA, NJSLA & NJSLA-S test scoresNewNov 4, 2026
2019–20 through 2024–25 school spending dataOct 6, 2026
2024–25 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesJun 13, 2026
2024–25 NJGPA, NJSLA & NJSLA-S test scoresDec 3, 2025


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.

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