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South Mountain Elementary School

Q: Is South Mountain Elementary School a good school?

South Mountain Elementary School ranks 242 nd of 1347 New Jersey elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

242^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,347 New Jersey Elementary Schools

Better than 82% of New Jersey elementary schools

Summary

South Mountain Elementary School is a high-performing public elementary school in South Orange, New Jersey, serving 650 students in grades K-5 and part of the South Orange-Maplewood School District. The school consistently ranks in the top 25% of New Jersey elementary schools, with students significantly outperforming state averages in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science.

South Mountain Elementary School's academic excellence is evident across all grade levels. In the 2024-2025 school year, 67.6% of 3rd graders, 68.4% of 4th graders, and 80.2% of 5th graders were proficient or better in ELA, compared to the state averages of 44.9%, 53.6%, and 52.7%, respectively. In Mathematics, the school's proficiency rates ranged from 53.7% to 73.4%, outperforming the state by 4-24 percentage points. The school's performance in Science is also noteworthy, with 53.9% of 5th graders proficient or better, compared to the state average of 30.1%.

While South Mountain Elementary School outperforms its neighboring schools within the South Orange-Maplewood School District, such as Tuscan Elementary School and Delia Bolden Elementary School, it does not quite match the exceptional performance of higher-performing schools outside the district, like Wyoming School in the Millburn Township School District. Nevertheless, South Mountain Elementary School remains a standout in its local area, with a diverse student population and efficient use of resources.

613

Students ?

11.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$5,242

Per pupil spending ?

5.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

444 West South Orange Ave
South Orange, NJ 07079-1234

(973) 378-5216

District: South Orange-Maplewood School District

Students who attend South Mountain Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	South Orange Middle School
High:	Columbia High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

59.5%

Two or more races:

13.4%

African American:

12.2%

See top rated New Jersey elementary schools

Compare South Mountain Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 88th percentile in 2015 → 82nd in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the New Jersey average (67% vs 46% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 18% of New Jersey elementary schools

✓Small classes — about 11 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 6 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school67%

District avg65%

New Jersey avg46%

242^nd of 1,347

New Jersey public elementary schools ?

Top 18%▼ down 6 pts since 2015

From top 12% (2015) to top 18% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of New Jersey Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 6Elementary 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	82.5	242 of 1347	82.0%	★★★★☆
2024	77.8	309 of 1338	76.9%	★★★★☆
2023	78.4	295 of 1342	78.0%	★★★★☆
2022	83.0	242 of 1345	82.0%	★★★★☆
2021	83.1	190 of 1317	85.6%	★★★★☆
2019	70.8	436 of 1360	67.9%	★★★☆☆
2018	76.0	341 of 1353	74.8%	★★★★☆
2017	79.7	286 of 1352	78.8%	★★★★☆
2016	85.5	176 of 1346	86.9%	★★★★☆
2015	86.6	166 of 1357	87.8%	★★★★☆
2014	80.3	241 of 1363	82.3%	★★★★☆
2013	78.8	268 of 1367	80.4%	★★★★☆
2012	81.3	182 of 1363	86.6%	★★★★☆
2011	80.5	197 of 1360	85.5%	★★★★☆
2010	80.4	194 of 1354	85.7%	★★★★☆
2009	77.6	271 of 1346	79.9%	★★★★☆
2008	80.6	144 of 1338	89.2%	★★★★☆
2007	69.0	494 of 1329	62.8%	★★★☆☆
2006	77.3	264 of 1314	79.9%	★★★★☆
2005	79.7	190 of 1303	85.4%	★★★★☆
2004	70.3	443 of 1298	65.9%	★★★☆☆
2003	70.1	444 of 1204	63.1%	★★★☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	64.4	115 of 463	75.2%	★★★★☆
2024	81.4	58 of 469	87.6%	★★★★☆
2023	94.7	18 of 463	96.1%	★★★★★
2022	79.3	73 of 494	85.2%	★★★★☆
2021	68.9	82 of 456	82.0%	★★★★☆
2019	58.1	189 of 522	63.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	52.6	205 of 517	60.3%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	83.1	215 of 1326	83.8%	★★★★☆
2024	80.0	265 of 1317	79.9%	★★★★☆
2023	78.5	275 of 1318	79.1%	★★★★☆
2022	80.4	254 of 1326	80.8%	★★★★☆
2021	81.6	184 of 1290	85.7%	★★★★☆
2019	65.9	495 of 1331	62.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	74.6	347 of 1333	74.0%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	94.3	52 of 1032	95.0%	★★★★★
2024	85.9	103 of 989	89.6%	★★★★☆
2023	77.7	169 of 982	82.8%	★★★★☆
2022	97.1	23 of 953	97.6%	★★★★★
2021	99.7	8 of 896	99.1%	★★★★★
2019	92.2	40 of 899	95.6%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	77.5	293 of 1318	77.8%	★★★★☆
2024	72.4	362 of 1313	72.4%	★★★★☆
2023	74.5	332 of 1315	74.8%	★★★★☆
2022	83.2	218 of 1324	83.5%	★★★★☆
2021	82.3	189 of 1297	85.4%	★★★★☆
2019	73.5	358 of 1335	73.2%	★★★★☆
2018	75.3	336 of 1334	74.8%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	85.7	108 of 1023	89.4%	★★★★☆
2024	49.9	408 of 989	58.7%	★★★☆☆
2023	60.5	293 of 958	69.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	77.9	147 of 949	84.5%	★★★★☆
2021	83.5	74 of 868	91.5%	★★★★★
2019	50.8	420 of 1007	58.3%	★★★☆☆
2018	49.1	451 of 1001	54.9%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	New Jersey percentile	Rating
2025	74.2	222 of 970	77.1%	★★★★☆
2024	70.1	260 of 963	73.0%	★★★★☆
2023	70.9	259 of 975	73.4%	★★★★☆
2022	79.5	168 of 976	82.8%	★★★★☆
2021	80.4	124 of 964	87.1%	★★★★☆
2019	70.7	262 of 1023	74.4%	★★★★☆
2018	89.1	46 of 1022	95.5%	★★★★★

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)

Hispanic (2025)95th percentile+13 vs school

Special Education (2025)89th percentile+7 vs school

Female (2025)84th percentile~ school

Male (2025)78th percentile-4 vs school

White (2025)77th percentile-5 vs school

African American (2025)75th percentile-7 vs school

By subject vs New Jersey (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts72%+22 vs state

Mathematics66%+19 vs state

Science54%+24 vs state

2.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, December 5, 2018

We're first year students at South Mountain, but so far I'm not impressed. The principal is not responsive and seems to think she doesn't report to parents the building is in complete disrepair despite the absurd amount of taxes we pay and the teachers have no support and cannot effectively assess a child, much less feed her strengths and develop her challenge areas. The main issue seems to be that expectations for everyone are set entirely too low. I guess it's not all bad... I've come across some amazing staff members. Close Quote

Schools Near South Mountain Elementary School

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)						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	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
South Mountain Elementary School	Public	K-5	444 West South Orange Ave	South Orange	07079	Essex County	South Orange-Maplewood School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(973) 378-5216	613	53	11.4	5.5%	365 (59.5%)	75 (12.2%)	66 (10.8%)	22 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	82 (13.4%)	82.5	242^nd of 1347 public elementary schools	82.0%		77.8	309^th of 1338 public elementary schools	76.9%	67	53.9		67.6	68.4	80.2				73.4	53.7	70.8				$5,242		$5,242
Delia Bolden Elementary School	Public	K-5	518 Ridgewood Rd	Maplewood	07040	Essex County	South Orange-Maplewood School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(973) 378-7696	518	41	12.7	8.5%	292 (56.4%)	80 (15.4%)	54 (10.4%)	12 (2.3%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	78 (15.1%)	80.5	280^th of 1347 public elementary schools	79.2%		85.5	201^st of 1338 public elementary schools	85.0%	79	54.8		67.1	58.5	85.4				56.2	55.7	64.6				$4,804		$4,804
Clinton Elementary School	Public	K-5	27 Berkshire Rd	Maplewood	07040	Essex County	South Orange-Maplewood School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(973) 378-7686	542	55	9.8	22.9%	278 (51.3%)	130 (24.0%)	78 (14.4%)	17 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (7.2%)	71.9	392^nd of 1347 public elementary schools	70.9%		72.9	382^nd of 1338 public elementary schools	71.4%	10	44.8		60.9	75.0	61.9				69.6	55.7	47.3				$5,261		$5,261
Marshall Elementary School	Public	K-4	262 Grove Rd	South Orange	07079	Essex County	South Orange-Maplewood School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(973) 378-7698	504	39	12.9	8.5%	284 (56.3%)	82 (16.3%)	60 (11.9%)	15 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	62 (12.3%)	88.8	146^th of 1347 public elementary schools	89.2%					(n/a)			76.9	83.6					82.0	60.7					$4,860		$4,860
Gregory Elementary School	Public	K-5	301 Gregory Ave	West Orange	07052	Essex County	West Orange Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	No	(973) 669-5397	484	41	11.9	18.8%	171 (35.3%)	118 (24.4%)	132 (27.3%)	14 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	49 (10.1%)	85.5	188^th of 1347 public elementary schools	86.0%		83.5	228^th of 1338 public elementary schools	83.0%	40	64.6		62.0	81.8	79.3				58.2	74.0	74.4				$11,810		$11,810
Heywood Avenue Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-7	421 Heywood Ave	Orange	07050	Essex County	ORANGE BOARD OF EDUCATION School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 677-4105	363	31	11.7	58.1%	3 (0.8%)	279 (76.9%)	66 (18.2%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (3.3%)	30.8	943^rd of 1347 public elementary schools	30.0%		35.4	863^rd of 1338 public elementary schools	35.5%	80	26.5		32.5	42.6	45.5	45.4	63.9		34.2	29.2	29.4	29.5	41.1		$11,274	$312	$10,962
Tuscan Elementary School	Public	K-5	25 Harvard Ave	Maplewood	07040	Essex County	South Orange-Maplewood School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(973) 378-5221	531	46	11.5	7.2%	347 (65.3%)	59 (11.1%)	63 (11.9%)	12 (2.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	49 (9.2%)	89.7	123^rd of 1347 public elementary schools	90.9%		87.2	169^th of 1338 public elementary schools	87.4%	46	55.7		73.9	84.5	79.5				78.3	66.7	78.5				$5,473		$5,473
Mt Vernon Place School	Public	PK, KG-8	142 Mount Vernon Pl	Newark	07106	Essex County	Newark Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 374-2090	905	55	16.4	76.1%	15 (1.7%)	307 (33.9%)	488 (53.9%)	84 (9.3%)	4 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (0.8%)	18.3	1120^th of 1347 public elementary schools	16.9%		16.3	1125^th of 1338 public elementary schools	15.9%	5	11.9	14.3	30.7	27.5	23.1	47.0	46.5	53.5	36.8	15.8	19.4	13.4	23.5	36.5	$9,356	$531	$8,825
Wyoming School	Public	K-4	55 Myrtle Ave	Millburn	07041	Essex County	Millburn Township School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 761-1619	346	27	12.8	2.6%	94 (27.2%)	4 (1.2%)	36 (10.4%)	169 (48.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (12.1%)	93.5	54^th of 1347 public elementary schools	96.0%		94.7	36^th of 1338 public elementary schools	97.3%	18			86.8	83.4					94.9	71.6					$14,064	$436	$13,628
St. Cloud Elementary School	Public	K-5	71 Sheridan Ave	West Orange	07052	Essex County	West Orange Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	No	(973) 669-5393	436	37	11.7	14.7%	115 (26.4%)	137 (31.4%)	90 (20.6%)	36 (8.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	57 (13.1%)	84.6	207^th of 1347 public elementary schools	84.6%		87.4	164^th of 1338 public elementary schools	87.7%	43	50.0		66.3	88.4	79.5				65.5	72.5	61.7				$10,534	$220	$10,314

Frequently Asked Questions about South Mountain Elementary School

Is South Mountain Elementary School a good school?

South Mountain Elementary School ranks 242^nd of 1347 New Jersey elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of South Mountain Elementary School?

Students at South Mountain Elementary School are 60% White, 13% Two or more races, 12% African American, 11% Hispanic, 4% Asian.

How many students attend South Mountain Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 613 students attended South Mountain Elementary School.

What schools do graduates of South Mountain Elementary School attend?

Students who attend South Mountain Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : South Orange Middle School
High : Columbia High School

What district is South Mountain Elementary School in?

South Orange-Maplewood School District

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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.