Best Public Schools in Zip Code 07624

Schools in ZIP code 07624 include two schools in the Closter Public School District: Hillside Elementary School, serving pre-K through grade 4, and Tenakill Middle School, serving grades 5–8. In 2025–2026, both schools were above the state in every listed ELA and math grade result. Their average advantages over matching state results were 28 points in ELA at Hillside and 26 at Tenakill, and 31 points in math at Hillside and 32 at Tenakill. The clearest overall finding is that strong results appear across both schools and both tested subjects, with math showing the larger average advantage over the state.

Hillside stands out in elementary math: grade 3 proficiency was 79% versus 49% statewide, and grade 4 was 80% versus 47%, advantages of 30 and 33 points. Tenakill stands out for Algebra I, with 100% proficiency in grade 7, 99% in grade 8, and 99% on the end-of-course measure, compared with state results of 93%, 75%, and 40%. Its standard middle-school math results are comparatively lower and vary by grade: they ranged from 77% in grade 5 to 58% in grade 8, although grade 8 remained 35 points above the state. Because the schools serve different grades, their raw scores do not support a like-for-like school ranking.

Recent trends are mixed: average ELA scores fell by about 3 points at Hillside and 4 at Tenakill from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, while average math scores rose by about 1 point at each. SchoolDigger statewide percentile rankings moved in opposite directions: Hillside rose from 86 to 94, while Tenakill went from 98 to 94; both were at 94 in 2025–2026. As context, 2024–2025 student-teacher ratios were 10.6 at Hillside and 14 at Tenakill, and chronic absenteeism was 5% and 8%, respectively, versus 14% statewide. Both reported free/reduced lunch eligible shares for 2024–2025: 1.5% at Hillside and 2.4% at Tenakill.