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Maxson Middle School

Public Grades 6-8

685^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 743 New Jersey Middle Schools

Better than 8% of New Jersey middle schools

Summary

Maxson Middle School serves 721 students in grades 6–8 in Plainfield, New Jersey. Its latest results show broad academic challenges: in 2025–2026, average proficiency across grades 6–8 was 23% in English Language Arts (ELA) and 9% in math, compared with 53% and 34% statewide. The most important finding is that low performance extends across subjects, with science also especially weak.

Maxson’s strongest comparison is its 2025–2026 Algebra I End-of-Course result: 46%, above the state’s 40% and the Plainfield Public School District’s 17%, although every nearby school with a reported result scored higher, at 63% or above. In the broader grade 6–8 averages, Maxson was below the district in ELA (23% versus 25%) and math (9% versus 13%). Grade 8 science proficiency was 2%, compared with 4% in the district and 19% statewide, and was below every nearby school result listed. Attendance is another concern: chronic absenteeism was 24% in 2024–2025, versus 20% districtwide and 14% statewide, the highest rate among the nearby schools listed.

Scores have improved only modestly over the longer period shown: average ELA proficiency rose about 3 points and math about 2 points from 2022–2023 to 2025–2026, but neither subject narrowed its gap with the state; science remained around 2%. SchoolDigger ranked Maxson 685th of 743 New Jersey schools in 2025–2026, at the 8th percentile with 0 stars, close to its 8th-percentile standing in 2023–2024. Context includes a 9.2 student–teacher ratio in 2024–2025, tied for the lowest among the listed schools, and 77% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible that year. SchoolDigger’s statewide subgroup rankings show a stronger relative standing for English Language Learner Students: the school ranked at the 27th percentile in 2025–2026, compared with the 8th percentile overall. For African American Students, the ranking fell from the 38th percentile in 2023–2024 to the 21st percentile in 2025–2026, a notable decline.

721

Students ?

9.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$24,025

Per pupil spending ?

76.7%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

920 E Seventh St
Plainfield, NJ 07062-1854

(908) 731-4310

District: Plainfield Public School District

Students who attend Maxson Middle School usually attend:

High:	Plainfield Academy For The Arts & Advanced Studies
	Plainfield High School

Feeder schools for Maxson Middle School:

Elementary:	Dewitt D. Barlow Elementary School
	Emerson Community School
	Evergreen Elementary School
	Frederic W. Cook Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

83.4%

African American:

14.7%

White:

0.8%

See top rated New Jersey middle schools

Compare Maxson Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 13th percentile in 2015 → 8th in 2026

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 9 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the New Jersey average (15% vs 42% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (8th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (24% vs 14% New Jersey)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school15%

District avg18%

New Jersey avg42%

685^th of 743

New Jersey public middle schools ?

Bottom 8%▼ down 7 pts since 2016

From bottom 15% (2016) to bottom 8% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of New Jersey Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

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

564^th of 607Plainfield 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
2026	11.1	685 of 743	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	12.7	678 of 752	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.3	683 of 743	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.8	690 of 748	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.5	666 of 745	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	9.8	674 of 745	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.4	641 of 716	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	13.6	616 of 712	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	16.0	609 of 713	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	14.0	621 of 713	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	6.2	653 of 717	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	4.7	661 of 704	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	3.5	647 of 677	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	7.4	627 of 684	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	5.9	632 of 677	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	9.4	593 of 664	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	8.4	580 of 640	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	4.4	591 of 631	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	7.3	556 of 615	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	11.0	530 of 599	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	21.4	483 of 588	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2003	5.6	519 of 574	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2026	27.3	261 of 331	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	29.6	259 of 359	27.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	36.2	217 of 352	38.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	30.9	264 of 361	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	30.6	266 of 356	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	24.2	270 of 326	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	34.5	219 of 326	32.8%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2026	29.9	245 of 336	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	29.1	259 of 343	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	31.1	229 of 320	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.2	221 of 288	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.9	202 of 270	25.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	31.6	151 of 227	33.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	35.6	128 of 202	36.6%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2026	11.0	675 of 716	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	12.9	658 of 728	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.0	656 of 717	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.1	670 of 720	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	12.8	658 of 726	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.6	628 of 703	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	10.7	614 of 680	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2026	15.9	542 of 589	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	18.5	526 of 608	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	17.3	525 of 589	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.9	525 of 587	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.8	517 of 591	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	14.6	472 of 524	9.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	17.9	440 of 504	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2026	17.8	534 of 590	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	22.8	523 of 613	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.7	472 of 584	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.8	452 of 568	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	25.7	417 of 549	24.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	17.1	449 of 541	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.6	408 of 522	21.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2026	12.5	653 of 714	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	13.0	666 of 726	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.6	649 of 719	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.5	641 of 718	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.4	624 of 730	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	9.5	648 of 697	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.7	598 of 675	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2026	26.1	383 of 482	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	24.6	409 of 507	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	26.5	401 of 510	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	27.5	390 of 505	22.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	23.8	449 of 535	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.4	422 of 492	14.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	30.6	330 of 471	29.9%	★★☆☆☆

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 (2026)27th percentile+19 vs school

African American (2026)21st percentile+13 vs school

Special Education (2026)21st percentile+13 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)9th percentile~ school

Male (2026)9th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2026)8th percentile~ school

Female (2026)6th percentile~ school

By subject vs New Jersey (2025-2026) ?

Algebra I46%~ state avg

English Language Arts23%-31 vs state

Mathematics9%-26 vs state

Science2%-17 vs state

★

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Schools Near Maxson Middle School

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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 (2026)				Ranking (2025)				NJSLA-S Science (2026)		NJSLA English Language Arts (2026)				NJSLA Mathematics (2026)				NJSLA Algebra I (2026)			NJSLA Geometry (2026)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	NJSLA-S Science 5th Grade	NJSLA-S Science 8th 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 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
Maxson Middle School	Public	6-8	920 E Seventh St	Plainfield	07062	Union County	Plainfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 731-4310	721	78	9.2	76.7%	6 (0.8%)	106 (14.7%)	601 (83.4%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	11.1	685^th of 743 public middle schools	7.8%		12.7	678^th of 752 public middle schools	9.8%	7		1.7		21.6	21.7	24.3		12.1	9.7	6.4		45.7	45.7			$24,025	$780	$23,245
Somerset School	Public	5-6	303 Somerset Street	North Plainfield	07060	Somerset County	North Plainfield School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 769-6080	485	51	9.4	82.1%	26 (5.4%)	80 (16.5%)	364 (75.1%)	8 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.4%)								(n/a)	8.7		27.5	37.5			23.1	34.6								$20,745	$762	$19,983
Terrill Middle School	Public	5-8	1301 Terrill Road	Scotch Plains	07076	Union County	Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(908) 322-5215	822	75	11.0	1.9%	527 (64.1%)	40 (4.9%)	90 (10.9%)	115 (14.0%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	48 (5.8%)	76.2	148^th of 743 public middle schools	80.1%		82.1	107^th of 752 public middle schools	85.8%	41	39.1	28.3	75.2	75.7	80.6	72.8	61.6	53.7	67.4	0.0		62.7	62.7			$18,337	$361	$17,976
Malcolm E Nettingham Middle School	Public	5-8	580 Park Avenue	Scotch Plains	07076	Union County	Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 322-4445	913	84	10.9	7.8%	477 (52.2%)	79 (8.7%)	188 (20.6%)	116 (12.7%)	4 (0.4%)	2 (0.2%)	47 (5.1%)	70.7	193^rd of 743 public middle schools	74.0%		70.1	198^th of 752 public middle schools	73.7%	5	37.1	23.3	61.0	71.4	67.4	67.6	58.5	51.2	59.6	0.0		68.3	68.3			$18,224	$358	$17,866
Hubbard Middle School	Public	6-8	661 W Eighth St	Plainfield	07060	Union County	Plainfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 731-4320	737	66	11.1	86.4%	4 (0.5%)	81 (11.0%)	647 (87.8%)	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	14.5	652^nd of 743 public middle schools	12.2%		14.8	659^th of 752 public middle schools	12.4%	7		1.2		15.7	20.8	24.1		9.6	14.6	17.6		97.1	97.1			$23,323	$777	$22,546
North Plainfield Middle School	Public	7-8	34 Wilson Avenue	North Plainfield	07060	Somerset County	North Plainfield School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 769-6040	538	52	10.3	78.6%	37 (6.9%)	80 (14.9%)	399 (74.2%)	10 (1.9%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.9%)	20.9	592^nd of 743 public middle schools	20.3%		18.7	620^th of 752 public middle schools	17.6%	28		2.4			42.2	35.1			18.8	6.9		80.0	80.0			$20,259	$646	$19,613
Grant Elementary School	Public	5-6	305 Cromwell Place	South Plainfield	07080	Middlesex County	South Plainfield School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 754-4620	568	52	11.0	35.4%	200 (35.2%)	60 (10.6%)	177 (31.2%)	104 (18.3%)	2 (0.4%)	2 (0.4%)	23 (4.0%)								(n/a)	18.9		49.3	44.3			41.7	31.6								$13,353	$259	$13,094
South Plainfield Middle School	Public	7-8	2201 Plainfield Avenue	South Plainfield	07080	Middlesex County	South Plainfield School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 754-4620	553	52	10.6	37.1%	182 (32.9%)	61 (11.0%)	203 (36.7%)	87 (15.7%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	17 (3.1%)	56.5	303^rd of 743 public middle schools	59.2%		52.8	326^th of 752 public middle schools	56.6%	23		19.4			55.1	58.9			38.0	25.8		100.0	100.0			$19,956	$287	$19,669
Valley View School	Public	5-8	50 Valley View Road	Watchung	07069	Somerset County	Watchung Borough School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 755-4422	276	30	9.2	2.2%	133 (48.2%)	24 (8.7%)	43 (15.6%)	57 (20.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (6.9%)	91.7	37^th of 743 public middle schools	95.0%		84.6	87^th of 752 public middle schools	88.4%	50	44.2	41.6	76.4	74.6	86.1	76.6	67.7	67.1	70.1	59.4		100.0				$20,961	$217	$20,744
Roosevelt Intermediate School	Public	6-8	301 Clark Street	Westfield	07090	Union County	Westfield Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(908) 789-4560	638	62	10.2	0.9%	509 (79.8%)	8 (1.3%)	46 (7.2%)	44 (6.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	30 (4.7%)	83.5	93^rd of 743 public middle schools	87.5%		83.9	93^rd of 752 public middle schools	87.6%			32.5		68.7	68.8	72.7		67.8	70.8	36.7		87.7	87.7			$15,986	$53	$15,933

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