Best Public Schools in Zip Code 08079

Schools in zip code 08079 include six schools serving 1,710 students, from prekindergarten through grade 12: four elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. Five have reported test results; John Fenwick Academy, serving prekindergarten through grade 2, has no test-score rows here. The schools’ 2024–2025 free/reduced lunch eligible measures range from 26% to 80%. The most important finding is that academic results differ sharply across the area: Mannington Township Elementary School often exceeds state results, while Salem Middle School is far below them.

Mannington Township Elementary School is the clearest academic standout: it led the listed schools in five of six tested grades in both ELA and math, and in fifth-grade science. Its average across six ELA grades was 63%, versus 51% for the state; in math it averaged 63%, versus 40% statewide. By contrast, Salem Middle School had the lowest reported result in five of six grades in both ELA and math, averaging 17% in ELA and 11% in math. SchoolDigger ranked Mannington at the 71st percentile and Salem Middle at the 4th. Other strengths are more grade-specific: Elsinboro Township School scored 64% in third-grade math and 35% in eighth-grade science; Lower Alloways Creek Elementary School scored 60% in eighth-grade ELA, 7 points above the state.

Recent results show mixed movement, not a uniform trend: matched ELA results were essentially flat, while state results fell about 2 points, narrowing the average gap; matched math results fell 3 points as state results edged up, widening the gap by about 4 points. Salem High School’s ninth-grade ELA rose from 6% to 19%, but remained 33 points below the state result; its graduation rate was 74%, versus 89% statewide. Mannington and Lower Alloways Creek have similar student-teacher ratios (8.5 and 8.9), yet their average math results were 63% and 20%; their 2024–2025 free/reduced lunch eligible measures were 26% and 33%, respectively. Salem Middle and Salem High also had chronic absenteeism of 29% and 26%, compared with 14% statewide. These measures provide context, not an explanation for achievement differences, and grade-level results can vary substantially.