Best High Schools in Zip Code 07040

ZIP code 07040 has one high school, Columbia High School, serving grades 9–12 with 1,985 students in the South Orange-Maplewood School District. Its 2025–2026 results show a sharp contrast by subject: the school is well above state proficiency in English Language Arts, science, and NJGPA assessments, but below state results in the listed algebra and geometry categories. The most important finding is that a single overall label would miss the substantial differences among Columbia’s tested areas.

Columbia’s strongest state-relative result was 9th-grade NJSLA English Language Arts, with 72% proficient compared with 51% statewide, a 20-point advantage. It also exceeded the state by 18 points in 11th-grade NJGPA Mathematics (79% vs. 61%), 15 points in 11th-grade NJSLA Science (44% vs. 29%), and 14 points in 11th-grade NJGPA English Language Arts (89% vs. 76%). The clearest weakness was Algebra II: 9th-grade results were 16% versus 53% statewide, a 37-point shortfall; Algebra II End of Course was 15% versus 52%, a 37-point gap. Geometry results were 24–27 points below the state, and Algebra I End of Course was 27 points below. There are no other high schools in the list to compare with Columbia.

Changes were mixed: Columbia’s gap versus the state improved in six of ten matched test categories, but steep Algebra II declines and a narrower science advantage pulled its average gap from 4 points below the state in 2024–2025 to 9 points below in 2025–2026. SchoolDigger ranked Columbia 154 of 434 schools, percentile 65, in 2025–2026, down from rank 131, percentile 70, the previous year but improved from rank 193, percentile 55, in 2023–2024. In 2024–2025, the student–teacher ratio was 14.2:1 and 18% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible; graduation was 89.4% versus 88.9% statewide, and chronic absenteeism was 13% versus 14% statewide but 8% districtwide. With just one school listed, the data cannot show school-to-school differences.