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South Orange Middle School

Q: Is South Orange Middle School a good school?

South Orange Middle School ranks 213 th of 752 New Jersey middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

213^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 752 New Jersey Middle Schools

Better than 72% of New Jersey middle schools

Summary

South Orange Middle School is a public middle school serving 769 students in grades 6-8 in the South Orange-Maplewood School District in New Jersey. The school consistently ranks in the top 30-35% of New Jersey middle schools, with strong academic performance on state assessments that exceeds both the state and district averages.

South Orange Middle School's academic excellence is particularly noteworthy for its African American, Hispanic, and White student subgroups, which all rank in the top 20% of New Jersey middle schools. However, the school's performance for its low-income students is relatively weaker, ranking in the bottom 25% of the state. This suggests that socioeconomic factors may be impacting the school's overall outcomes, despite its strong showing for other student groups. The school's per-student spending is also lower than some of its higher-performing neighbors, such as Millburn Middle School and Roosevelt Middle School.

While South Orange Middle School is a standout performer within its own district, it faces challenges in addressing rising chronic absenteeism rates and supporting the academic needs of its low-income students. Comparing the school to its higher-achieving neighbors highlights the potential for further improvement with additional resources and targeted interventions. Overall, South Orange Middle School is a strong-performing school, but there are opportunities to build on its successes and ensure all students have the support they need to thrive.

752

Students ?

9.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$6,366

Per pupil spending ?

11.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

70 North Ridgewood Road
South Orange, NJ 07079-1518

(973) 378-2772

District: South Orange-Maplewood School District

Students who attend South Orange Middle School usually attend:

High:

Columbia High School

Feeder schools for South Orange Middle School:

Elementary:	Clinton Elementary School
	South Mountain Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

White:

55.9%

African American:

20.2%

Two or more races:

10.5%

See top rated New Jersey middle schools

Compare South Orange Middle School to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 59th percentile in 2015 → 72nd in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the New Jersey average (62% vs 44% meeting standards)

✓Ranking is trending up — up 13 percentile points since 2015

✓Above the New Jersey median (72nd percentile)

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school62%

District avg58%

New Jersey avg44%

213^th of 752

New Jersey public middle schools ?

Top 28%▲ up 12 pts since 2015

From top 41% (2015) to top 28% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of New Jersey Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 2Middle Schools in the South Orange-Maplewood School District

160^th of 609South Orange-Maplewood 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	68.0	213 of 752	71.7%	★★★★☆
2024	65.3	230 of 743	69.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	63.9	234 of 748	68.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	70.8	182 of 745	75.6%	★★★★☆
2021	75.0	137 of 652	79.0%	★★★★☆
2019	69.7	207 of 745	72.2%	★★★★☆
2018	70.8	198 of 716	72.3%	★★★★☆
2017	66.5	231 of 712	67.6%	★★★☆☆
2016	63.9	231 of 713	67.6%	★★★☆☆
2015	57.5	289 of 713	59.5%	★★★☆☆
2014	77.6	165 of 717	77.0%	★★★★☆
2013	76.5	172 of 704	75.6%	★★★★☆
2012	78.2	154 of 677	77.3%	★★★★☆
2011	67.5	260 of 684	62.0%	★★★☆☆
2010	69.8	239 of 677	64.7%	★★★☆☆
2009	65.1	293 of 664	55.9%	★★★☆☆
2008	61.8	312 of 640	51.3%	★★★☆☆
2007	60.9	323 of 631	48.8%	★★☆☆☆
2006	59.2	336 of 615	45.4%	★★☆☆☆
2005	64.6	280 of 599	53.3%	★★★☆☆
2004	55.8	344 of 588	41.5%	★★☆☆☆
2003	57.9	329 of 574	42.7%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	70.1	70 of 359	80.5%	★★★★☆
2024	62.2	94 of 352	73.3%	★★★★☆
2023	67.0	75 of 361	79.2%	★★★★☆
2022	61.2	93 of 356	73.9%	★★★★☆
2021	63.5	56 of 291	80.8%	★★★★☆
2019	69.4	73 of 326	77.6%	★★★★☆
2018	73.6	58 of 326	82.2%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	70.5	201 of 728	72.4%	★★★★☆
2024	64.9	234 of 717	67.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	73.2	178 of 720	75.3%	★★★★☆
2022	64.7	227 of 726	68.7%	★★★☆☆
2021	63.1	191 of 625	69.4%	★★★☆☆
2019	73.5	182 of 703	74.1%	★★★★☆
2018	78.9	142 of 680	79.1%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	81.3	66 of 608	89.1%	★★★★☆
2024	84.3	52 of 589	91.2%	★★★★★
2023	78.0	80 of 587	86.4%	★★★★☆
2022	97.8	6 of 591	99.0%	★★★★★
2021	65.9	106 of 480	77.9%	★★★★☆
2019	79.7	60 of 524	88.5%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	29.5	462 of 613	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	40.9	338 of 584	42.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	39.0	327 of 568	42.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	47.5	240 of 549	56.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	27.2	347 of 467	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	48.0	263 of 541	51.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	42.6	298 of 522	42.9%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	72.9	172 of 726	76.3%	★★★★☆
2024	77.3	147 of 719	79.6%	★★★★☆
2023	75.5	152 of 718	78.8%	★★★★☆
2022	77.2	139 of 730	81.0%	★★★★☆
2021	75.8	125 of 635	80.3%	★★★★☆
2019	76.6	158 of 697	77.3%	★★★★☆
2018	67.7	207 of 675	69.3%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	61.0	133 of 507	73.8%	★★★★☆
2024	66.2	110 of 510	78.4%	★★★★☆
2023	65.9	94 of 505	81.4%	★★★★☆
2022	80.2	51 of 535	90.5%	★★★★★
2021	68.0	82 of 401	79.6%	★★★★☆
2019	51.8	190 of 492	61.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	54.7	180 of 471	61.8%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	73.6	100 of 502	80.1%	★★★★☆
2024	75.8	88 of 510	82.7%	★★★★☆
2023	72.9	112 of 509	78.0%	★★★★☆
2022	81.3	65 of 512	87.3%	★★★★☆
2021	70.8	87 of 435	80.0%	★★★★☆
2019	81.7	55 of 504	89.1%	★★★★☆
2018	82.3	49 of 497	90.1%	★★★★★

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)89th percentile+17 vs school

African American (2025)81st percentile+9 vs school

White (2025)80th percentile+8 vs school

Male (2025)76th percentile+5 vs school

Special Education (2025)74th percentile~ school

Female (2025)72nd percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)25th percentile-47 vs school

By subject vs New Jersey (2024-2025) ?

Geometry79%+18 vs state

Algebra I74%+27 vs state

English Language Arts71%+14 vs state

Mathematics45%+11 vs state

Science36%+17 vs state

★

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Schools Near South Orange 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 (2025)				Ranking (2024)				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	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	NJSLA Algebra II 8th Grade	NJSLA Algebra II End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
South Orange Middle School	Public	6-8	70 North Ridgewood Road	South Orange	07079	Essex County	South Orange-Maplewood School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(973) 378-2772	752	77	9.7	11.6%	420 (55.9%)	152 (20.2%)	68 (9.0%)	29 (3.9%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.4%)	79 (10.5%)	68	213^th of 752 public middle schools	71.7%		65.3	230^th of 743 public middle schools	69.0%	17		36.1				74.8	74.4	64.2				62.4	31.6	3.1	84.1	51.3	69.3	78.8	78.8			$6,366		$6,366
Maplewood Middle School	Public	6-8	7 Burnett St	Maplewood	07040	Essex County	South Orange-Maplewood School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 378-7660	762	80	9.5	18.6%	406 (53.3%)	174 (22.8%)	89 (11.7%)	29 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	61 (8.0%)	63.4	248^th of 752 public middle schools	67.0%		57.5	293^rd of 743 public middle schools	60.6%	45		31.5				66.8	67.3	71.3				56.7	20.3	7.2	72.2	62.5	68.8	94.0	94.0			$6,140		$6,140
Roosevelt Middle School	Public	7-8	36 Gilbert Pl	West Orange	07052	Essex County	West Orange Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	No	(973) 669-5373	457	56	8.2	43.8%	84 (18.4%)	160 (35.0%)	173 (37.9%)	9 (2.0%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	29 (6.3%)	62	260^th of 752 public middle schools	65.4%		54.9	308^th of 743 public middle schools	58.5%	48		27.1					76.6	64.2					40.5	17.6	97.6	60.0	78.1			72.7	73.5	$13,694		$13,694
Orange Preparatory Academy School of Inquiry and Innovation	Public	8	400 Central Ave	Orange	07050	Essex County	ORANGE BOARD OF EDUCATION School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 677-4135	397	48	8.2	65.7%	1 (0.3%)	187 (47.1%)	207 (52.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26.8	541^st of 752 public middle schools	28.1%		29.7	512^th of 743 public middle schools	31.1%	29		4.9						45.1						12.3		96.6	96.6					$12,917	$383	$12,534
Pride Academy Charter School	Public, Charter	5-8	117 Elmwood Ave	East Orange	07018	Essex County	Pride Academy Charter School District	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 672-3200	300	19	16.0	78.3%	1 (0.3%)	281 (93.7%)	18 (6.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	51.5	341^st of 752 public middle schools	54.7%		60.3	273^rd of 743 public middle schools	63.3%	68	13.3	12.0			40.0	46.7	58.7	68.0			28.0	25.4	54.7	24.0								$7,531	$934	$6,597
University Middle School	Public	6-8	255 Myrtle Ave	Irvington	07111	Essex County	Irvington Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 399-6879	719	60	11.9	76.8%	3 (0.4%)	443 (61.6%)	269 (37.4%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	9.5	717^th of 752 public middle schools	4.7%		10.7	700^th of 743 public middle schools	5.8%	17		1.3				18.1	18.8	24.6				3.8	10.2	3.9		54.2	54.2					$9,378	$185	$9,193
Rosa Parks Community School	Public	3-7	369 Main Street	Orange	07050	Essex County	ORANGE BOARD OF EDUCATION School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 677-4515	593	52	11.3	84.1%	2 (0.3%)	178 (30.0%)	402 (67.8%)	4 (0.7%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.7%)	39.5	444^th of 752 public middle schools	41.0%		27.9	525^th of 743 public middle schools	29.3%	81	17.8		28.6	34.3	46.0	49.5	48.2		22.3	29.8	36.3	26.8	35.9									$8,884	$492	$8,392
Jefferson Elementary	Public	5	155 Hilton Avenue	Union	07083	Union County	Township of Union School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 851-6560	564	41	13.7	52.7%	93 (16.5%)	243 (43.1%)	164 (29.1%)	42 (7.4%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	19 (3.4%)								(n/a)	22.4				43.5						27.2											$9,285	$268	$9,017
Union Avenue Middle School	Public	6-8	427 Union Ave	Irvington	07111	Essex County	Irvington Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 399-6885	735	47	15.8	79.9%	1 (0.1%)	495 (67.3%)	232 (31.6%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.3%)	15	658^th of 752 public middle schools	12.5%		16.1	644^th of 743 public middle schools	13.3%	14		3.3				33.3	32.0	27.5				10.0	13.2	3.1		100.0	100.0					$9,597	$204	$9,393
Millburn Middle School	Public	6-8	25 Old Short Hills Rd	Millburn	07041	Essex County	Millburn Township School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 379-2600	1,106	105	10.5	2.4%	365 (33.0%)	31 (2.8%)	64 (5.8%)	550 (49.7%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	94 (8.5%)	93.7	18^th of 752 public middle schools	97.6%		93.1	20^th of 743 public middle schools	97.3%	2		62.0				88.2	86.4	85.9				86.5	84.3	40.9		96.9	96.9					$14,838	$34	$14,804

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