Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 08021

ZIP code 08021 has two middle schools serving grades 6–8: Lindenwold Middle School and Pine Hill Middle School. The clearest area-wide concern is that proficiency in both schools is far below state levels in English language arts (ELA) and math. In 2025–2026, their average across grades 6–8 was 26% in ELA, versus 53% statewide, and 10% in math, versus 34% statewide. The most important finding is that Pine Hill’s local lead does not mean either school is near state performance in these core subjects.

Pine Hill Middle School has the stronger overall latest results, scoring higher in six of eight same-grade comparisons, while Lindenwold Middle School led in grade 7 ELA and math. Pine Hill’s standout is grade 8 Algebra I: 79%, compared with Lindenwold’s 30%, a 48-point gap; Pine Hill was 4 points above the state’s grade 8 result, while Lindenwold was 44 points below. Still, both schools’ SchoolDigger rankings are low: Lindenwold ranked 688th of 743 schools, in the 7th percentile, and Pine Hill ranked 631st, in the 15th percentile, for 2025–2026.

Area averages improved slightly from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, but changes varied by grade and school. ELA rose 1 point and math rose 2 points; the gap from state averages narrowed by 5 points in ELA and 1 point in math. Pine Hill’s grade 7 ELA result fell 20 points, while Lindenwold’s grade 7 and grade 8 ELA results rose 10 and 9 points. Context also differs: in 2024–2025, Lindenwold had 896 students, a 10.6 student-teacher ratio, and 86% of students reported as free/reduced lunch eligible; Pine Hill had 323 students, a 9.9 ratio, and 77% eligible. Chronic absenteeism was 15% at Lindenwold and 18% at Pine Hill. These observations do not establish what explains test results, and two years of scores do not establish a long-term trend.