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Muhammad Ali School Number 23

Public Grades 7-8

744^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 752 New Jersey Middle Schools

Better than 1% of New Jersey middle schools

Summary

Muhammad Ali School Number 23 is a middle school located in Passaic, New Jersey, serving grades 7-8 with a total enrollment of 430 students. The school is part of the Passaic City School District, which is ranked 540 out of 609 districts in New Jersey and has a rating of 1 out of 5 stars by SchoolDigger.

Muhammad Ali School Number 23 consistently ranks among the lowest-performing middle schools in New Jersey, with proficiency rates well below the state and district averages across all subject areas and grade levels. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 17.7% of 7th-grade students were proficient in English Language Arts, compared to 57% statewide. In mathematics, the proficiency rate for 7th-grade students was just 9.2%, compared to 38.8% statewide. The school has also struggled with high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 14.9% to 25.9% over the past few years, significantly higher than the state and district averages. The school's performance is particularly concerning for certain student subgroups, ranking in the bottom 25% of New Jersey middle schools for female, male, Hispanic, English Language Learner, and Special Education students.

In contrast, the nearby Passaic Gifted and Talented Academy School No. 20, which is also part of the Passaic City School District, consistently outperforms Muhammad Ali School Number 23 and the district as a whole, with significantly higher proficiency rates in both English Language Arts and Mathematics. While Muhammad Ali School Number 23 struggles with high chronic absenteeism, the nearby Ellen Ochoa School Number 22 and other schools in the surrounding districts also report similar chronic absenteeism rates, suggesting that this may be a broader issue in the region.

442

Students ?

8.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

99.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

63 Dayton Ave
Passaic, NJ 07055

(973) 470-5500

District: Passaic City School District

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

97.3%

African American:

1.6%

Two or more races:

0.7%

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Compare Muhammad Ali School Number 23 to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 2nd percentile in 2023 → 1st in 2025

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 8 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the New Jersey average (18% vs 44% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (1st percentile)

!Algebra I scores 43 pts below the New Jersey average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school18%

District avg21%

New Jersey avg44%

744^th of 752

New Jersey public middle schools ?

Bottom 1%▼ down 1 pts since 2023

See the entire ranking list of New Jersey Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

540^th of 609Passaic City 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	7.2	744 of 752	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	5.3	743 of 743	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	7.6	736 of 748	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	28.4	262 of 343	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.9	299 of 320	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	25.9	238 of 288	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	10.8	676 of 728	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.4	708 of 717	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	10.3	679 of 720	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	14.1	562 of 608	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.4	579 of 589	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	19.6	511 of 587	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	14.9	570 of 613	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	8.5	709 of 726	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.0	712 of 719	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	9.7	688 of 718	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	19.0	472 of 507	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	17.1	490 of 510	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	20.7	447 of 505	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

English Language Learner (2025)24th percentile+23 vs school

Hispanic (2025)8th percentile+7 vs school

Female (2025)7th percentile+6 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)7th percentile+6 vs school

Special Education (2025)7th percentile+6 vs school

Male (2025)2nd percentile~ school

By subject vs New Jersey (2024-2025) ?

Science50%+31 vs state

English Language Arts21%-36 vs state

Mathematics9%-30 vs state

Algebra I2%-43 vs state

★

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Schools Near Muhammad Ali School Number 23

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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 (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
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
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
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
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
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
Thomas Jefferson Middle School	Public	6-8	75 First Street	Lodi	07644	Bergen County	Lodi School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 478-8662	686	59	11.5	65.9%	141 (20.6%)	41 (6.0%)	440 (64.1%)	51 (7.4%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (1.7%)	69	209^th of 752 public middle schools	72.2%		67.9	206^th of 743 public middle schools	72.3%	3		14.3				79.1	78.1	78.8				34.2	46.2	33.7		100.0	100.0			$7,692	$133	$7,559
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
Hasbrouck Heights Middle School	Public	6-8	365 Boulevard	Hasbrouck Heights	07604	Bergen County	Hasbrouck Heights School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(201) 393-8170	417	37	11.2	21.8%	187 (44.8%)	12 (2.9%)	156 (37.4%)	49 (11.8%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (2.6%)	73.5	167^th of 752 public middle schools	77.8%		69.8	194^th of 743 public middle schools	73.9%	27		19.7				77.0	74.3	55.1				59.5	53.9	38.2		100.0	100.0			$10,295	$114	$10,181
Union School	Public	7-8	359 Union Ave	Rutherford	07070	Bergen County	Rutherford School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(201) 438-7675	399	39	10.1	6.8%	205 (51.4%)	8 (2.0%)	99 (24.8%)	61 (15.3%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (6.0%)	88.1	62^nd of 752 public middle schools	91.8%		74.9	161^st of 743 public middle schools	78.3%	99		35.2					81.1	79.7					76.7	40.5		95.6	95.6			$8,872		$8,872
Wood-Ridge Intermediate School	Public	4-6	151 First Street	Wood Ridge	07075	Bergen County	Wood-Ridge School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(201) 933-6777	256	22	11.9	19.5%	126 (49.2%)	12 (4.7%)	86 (33.6%)	26 (10.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.3%)								(n/a)	52.9			65.6	82.3	71.7				63.8	60.9	55.3								$11,759	$116	$11,643

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