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North Plainfield High School

Public Grades 9-12

340^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 434 New Jersey High Schools

Better than 22% of New Jersey high schools

Summary

North Plainfield High School is a public high school serving 1,199 students in grades 9-12 in North Plainfield, New Jersey, which is part of the North Plainfield School District. The school consistently ranks in the bottom third of New Jersey high schools, with low academic performance on state assessments and a high chronic absenteeism rate.

North Plainfield High School's 4-year graduation rate is slightly below the state average at 91-92%, and its dropout rate of 0.7-1.2% is lower than the state average. However, the school has a very high percentage of students (over 70%) who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage among the student population. Compared to nearby high schools like Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School and Watchung Hills Regional High School, North Plainfield High School performs significantly worse across most academic metrics.

Despite the school's challenges, it does have a relatively low student-teacher ratio of 11.8-12.2, suggesting that the district is allocating resources towards smaller class sizes. Targeted interventions and support for underperforming subgroups, as well as strategies to address chronic absenteeism, could be areas of focus for improvement at North Plainfield High School.

1,141

Students ?

11.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,138

Per pupil spending ?

75.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

34 Wilson Avenue
North Plainfield, NJ 07060-4075

(908) 769-6000

District: North Plainfield School District

Feeder schools for North Plainfield High School:

Elementary:	East End School
	Stony Brook School
	West End School
Middle:	North Plainfield Middle School
	Somerset School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

72.6%

African American:

16.6%

White:

7.5%

See top rated New Jersey high schools

Compare North Plainfield High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 45th percentile in 2015 → 22nd in 2025

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 11 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the New Jersey average (32% vs 49% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (22nd percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 23 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school32%

District avg33%

New Jersey avg49%

340^th of 434

New Jersey public high schools ?

Bottom 22%▼ down 24 pts since 2015

From bottom 45% (2015) to bottom 22% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of New Jersey High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

558^th of 609North Plainfield 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	24.2	340 of 434	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.0	328 of 429	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.6	347 of 422	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	23.6	310 of 415	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	18.7	330 of 405	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	24.4	300 of 416	27.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.8	297 of 415	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	26.4	306 of 411	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	31.4	277 of 409	32.3%	★★☆☆☆
2015	38.1	222 of 406	45.3%	★★☆☆☆
2014	44.0	303 of 411	26.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	28.9	319 of 396	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	25.7	323 of 388	16.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	23.4	312 of 378	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	36.9	288 of 371	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	19.6	318 of 370	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	16.5	312 of 359	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	22.0	306 of 361	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	24.2	295 of 357	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	17.5	304 of 351	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	36.7	265 of 348	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2003	23.2	284 of 343	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	55.4	100 of 283	64.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	68.1	57 of 282	79.8%	★★★★☆
2023	44.1	104 of 250	58.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	41.6	119 of 256	53.5%	★★★☆☆
2021	48.4	109 of 247	55.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	47.9	111 of 254	56.3%	★★★☆☆
2018	40.1	154 of 266	42.1%	★★☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2018	17.2	181 of 198	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	32.6	139 of 215	35.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	26.5	141 of 191	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	33.0	100 of 161	37.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	35.5	69 of 137	49.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	42.7	60 of 138	56.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	30.8	105 of 146	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	28.4	324 of 426	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	30.9	311 of 420	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.4	336 of 416	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.6	314 of 414	24.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	21.5	323 of 402	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.6	310 of 408	24.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.4	305 of 403	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	27.1	314 of 406	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	32.4	280 of 403	30.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	20.8	323 of 385	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	31.3	249 of 382	34.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	34.1	246 of 374	34.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	36.4	217 of 364	40.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	36.9	219 of 368	40.5%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	32.7	262 of 377	30.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	43.9	181 of 358	49.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	28.9	252 of 344	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	43.1	143 of 324	55.9%	★★★☆☆
2021	26.5	271 of 326	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	41.5	171 of 347	50.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	49.6	132 of 345	61.7%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	21.5	331 of 426	22.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.3	328 of 419	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	14.9	344 of 414	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.0	299 of 410	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	18.0	336 of 402	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	27.2	269 of 407	33.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	27.4	290 of 405	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	31.2	245 of 359	31.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	28.7	248 of 361	31.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	24.0	276 of 339	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	33.5	212 of 344	38.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	15.3	322 of 333	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	24.1	276 of 349	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.8	241 of 355	32.1%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	48.2	176 of 347	49.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	10.0	323 of 345	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	45.9	142 of 335	57.6%	★★★☆☆
2022	43.0	154 of 335	54.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	38.1	179 of 336	46.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	27.8	226 of 339	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	36.9	191 of 340	43.8%	★★☆☆☆

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 (2025)65th percentile+43 vs school

White (2025)49th percentile+28 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)35th percentile+14 vs school

Special Education (2025)32nd percentile+10 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)31st percentile+9 vs school

Female (2025)24th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)23rd percentile~ school

Male (2025)22nd percentile~ school

Asian (2018)9th percentile-20 vs school

By subject vs New Jersey (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts69%-12 vs state

Geometry57%~ state avg

Mathematics41%-17 vs state

Science10%-21 vs state

Algebra I10%-21 vs state

3.0

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What people are saying

by a student
Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Teachers do not know what they are talking about I had to correct my teachers multiple times throughout the year Close Quote

Schools Near North Plainfield High School

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				NJGPA English Language Arts (2025)	NJGPA Mathematics (2025)	NJSLA-S Science (2025)		NJSLA English Language Arts (2025)				NJSLA Mathematics (2025)			NJSLA Algebra I (2025)				NJSLA Geometry (2025)			NJSLA Algebra II (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	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 8th Grade	NJSLA Algebra I 9th Grade	NJSLA Algebra I 10th Grade	NJSLA Algebra I End of Course	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
North Plainfield High School	Public	9-12	34 Wilson Avenue	North Plainfield	07060	Somerset County	North Plainfield School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(908) 769-6000	1,141	100	11.4	75.7%	86 (7.5%)	189 (16.6%)	828 (72.6%)	26 (2.3%)	3 (0.3%)	2 (0.2%)	7 (0.6%)	24.2	340^th of 434 public high schools	21.7%		27	328^th of 429 public high schools	23.5%	12	68.9	40.9		10.1				36.9					10.2		10.0	65.2		50.0				$11,138	$46	$11,092
The Barack Obama Green Charter School	Public, Charter	6-12	35 Watchung ave	Plainfield	07060	Union County	The Barack Obama Green Charter High School District	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(877) 643-4064	358	25	14.3	78.2%	1 (0.3%)	92 (25.7%)	262 (73.2%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	17.7	370^th of 434 public high schools	14.7%		30.2	307^th of 429 public high schools	28.4%	63	66.7	23.3	5.0	6.7	12.2	4.9	37.5	19.7	14.6	2.4	0.0	60.0	3.7	12.2	12.4							$9,321	$950	$8,371
Pinnacle Academy High School	Public	9-12	209 Berckman St	Plainfield	07062	Union County	Plainfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(908) 731-4270	67	3	22.3	74.6%	0 (0.0%)	12 (17.9%)	55 (82.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Plainfield High School	Public	9-12	950 Park Avenue	Plainfield	07060	Union County	Plainfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 731-4390	2,077	156	13.3	75.4%	17 (0.8%)	326 (15.7%)	1,708 (82.2%)	8 (0.4%)	4 (0.2%)	3 (0.1%)	11 (0.5%)	8	425^th of 434 public high schools	2.1%		8	415^th of 429 public high schools	3.3%	10	46.6	16.8		5.0				16.5					3.3	0.0	2.9	10.4		10.2				$10,696		$10,696
Plainfield Academy For The Arts & Advanced Studies	Public	7-12	1700 West Front St	Plainfield	07063	Union County	Plainfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 731-4421	357	40	8.9	77.3%	2 (0.6%)	112 (31.4%)	239 (66.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.1%)	20.5	357^th of 434 public high schools	17.7%		23.2	339^th of 429 public high schools	21.0%	18		57.0	6.3	22.1		54.8	56.3	41.4		16.1	0.0	40.0	0.0		14.9	28.6		28.6				$12,696		$12,696
Dunellen High School	Public	9-12	411 First Street	Dunellen	08812	Middlesex County	Dunellen Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(732) 400-5900	409	36	11.3	48.9%	83 (20.3%)	56 (13.7%)	245 (59.9%)	16 (3.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.2%)	36.2	284^th of 434 public high schools	34.6%		29.3	314^th of 429 public high schools	26.8%	30	83.9	62.3		20.0				29.7					2.8		5.3	50.0	15.4	25.3		45.5	45.5	$7,075		$7,075
Watchung Hills Regional High School	Public	9-12	108 Stirling Rd.	Warren	07059	Somerset County	Watchung Hills Regional High School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 647-4800	1,653	143	11.5	3.4%	857 (51.8%)	77 (4.7%)	301 (18.2%)	346 (20.9%)	5 (0.3%)	2 (0.1%)	59 (3.6%)	67.9	104^th of 434 public high schools	76.0%		79.9	57^th of 429 public high schools	86.7%	47		77.6		50.3				69.1					69.4		69.4	38.0		38.0	100.0		100.0	$14,489	$55	$14,434
South Plainfield High School	Public	9-12	200 Lake Street	South Plainfield	07080	Middlesex County	South Plainfield School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(908) 754-4620	1,044	93	11.2	36.3%	348 (33.3%)	140 (13.4%)	385 (36.9%)	141 (13.5%)	1 (0.1%)	7 (0.7%)	19 (1.8%)	57.1	164^th of 434 public high schools	62.2%		59.4	150^th of 429 public high schools	65.0%	14	89.3	66.2		38.6				42.4					23.1		23.6	62.0		62.0				$6,934		$6,934
Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School	Public	9-12	667 Westfield Road	Scotch Plains	07076	Union County	Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(908) 889-8600	1,562	117	13.3	5.6%	974 (62.4%)	127 (8.1%)	247 (15.8%)	134 (8.6%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.2%)	72 (4.6%)	63.8	127^th of 434 public high schools	70.7%		65.2	125^th of 429 public high schools	70.9%	2		81.6		52.2				63.0					9.9		9.8	54.9		54.9				$9,238	$37	$9,201
Middlesex High School	Public	9-12	300 John F. Kennedy Drive	Middlesex	08846	Middlesex County	Middlesex Borough School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(732) 317-6000	597	55	10.8	45.7%	226 (37.9%)	41 (6.9%)	257 (43.0%)	48 (8.0%)	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.7%)	18 (3.0%)	48.3	210^th of 434 public high schools	51.6%		40.1	258^th of 429 public high schools	39.9%	48	88.7	51.8		26.3				48.7					24.8		24.8	57.1		57.1				$11,917	$24	$11,893

Frequently Asked Questions about North Plainfield High School

How many students attend North Plainfield High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,141 students attended North Plainfield High School.

Is North Plainfield High School a good school?

North Plainfield High School ranks in the bottom 21.7% of New Jersey high schools.

What district is North Plainfield High School in?

North Plainfield School District

What schools feed into North Plainfield High School?

North Plainfield High School is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : East End School
Elementary : Stony Brook School
Elementary : West End School
Middle : North Plainfield Middle School
Middle : Somerset School

What is the racial makeup of North Plainfield High School?

Students at North Plainfield High School are 73% Hispanic, 17% African American, 8% White, 2% Asian.

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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.