Best Middle Schools in New Jersey

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Find the best New Jersey middle schools with SchoolDigger.com! Focused on test scores for accurate rankings, our user-friendly site simplifies your search. Empower your decisions by exploring top-rated schools, only on SchoolDigger.com - the ultimate guide to K-12 schools!

JUST IN! New Jersey NJSLA-S and NJSLA test scores and updated rankings for the 2023-24 school year were recently posted to SchoolDigger!

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish New Jersey test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

School															Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)							Ranking (2024 vs 2023)
ID	Rank (of 743)	School	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Disc Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel from Federal Funds	Total from Federal Funds	Personnel from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Total from State and Local Funds	Average Standard Score (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Rank (2023)	Rank Change from 2023	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)
340627003191	541	Hackensack Middle School	Public	5-8	360 Union Street	Hackensack	07601	Bergen County	Hackensack School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(201) 646-7842	1,402	124	11.3	54.1%	64 (4.6%)	265 (18.9%)	995 (71.0%)	48 (3.4%)	5 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	24 (1.7%)	$13,905			$516			$13,389	26.4	29.7	520	21
340783006114	542	Franklin L. Williams School	Public	6-8	222 Laidlaw Avenue	Jersey City	07306	Hudson County	Jersey City Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(201) 714-8340	882	65	13.5	78.0%	68 (7.7%)	63 (7.1%)	647 (73.4%)	94 (10.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	8 (0.9%)	$12,649			$746			$11,903	26.3	28.1	531	11
340423000273	543	Benjamin Banneker Academy	Public	PK, KG-8	500 South Clinton Street	East Orange	07018	Essex County	East Orange School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 266-4320	487	35	13.9	59.8%	5 (1.0%)	437 (89.7%)	40 (8.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.8%)	$10,883			$366			$10,517	26.3	21.2	584	41
341281001200	544	Helen A. Fort Middle School	Public	7-8	101 Fort Dix Road	Pemberton	08068	Burlington County	Pemberton Township School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(609) 893-8141	585	52	11.2	63.6%	286 (48.9%)	135 (23.1%)	116 (19.8%)	9 (1.5%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.5%)	35 (6.0%)	$18,350			$742			$17,608	26.1	23.8	563	19
340008700735	545	Paterson Charter School for Science and Technology	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	196 West Railway Avenue	Paterson	07503	Passaic County	Paterson Charter School for Science and Technology	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(973) 247-0600	1,664	122	13.6	92.4%	123 (7.4%)	460 (27.6%)	1,066 (64.1%)	11 (0.7%)	2 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.1%)	$9,624			$1,059			$8,565	26.1	23.4	566	21
340459005518	546	Woodrow Wilson School No. 19	Public	PK, KG-8	529 Edgar Rd	Elizabeth	07202	Union County	Elizabeth Public Schools	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(908) 436-6200	559	49	11.5	81.8%	44 (7.9%)	57 (10.2%)	445 (79.6%)	11 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	$9,319			$232			$9,087	26.1	21.7	580	34
340077603299	547	Camden Prep Inc.	Public, Alternative	K-12	1575 Mt. Ephraim Ave	Camden	08104	Camden County	Camden Prep Inc.	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(856) 379-4488	1,465	20	73.2	62.9%	8 (0.5%)	894 (61.0%)	529 (36.1%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.3%)	4 (0.3%)	24 (1.6%)	$11,619			$2,969			$8,650	25.9	23.3	568	21
340789002872	548	Lincoln Middle School	Public	7-8	121 Beech St	Kearny	07032	Hudson County	Kearny	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(201) 955-5095	722	66	10.9	70.1%	203 (28.1%)	18 (2.5%)	474 (65.7%)	19 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	6 (0.8%)	$7,850			$559			$7,291	25.6	32.4	492	56
340474000394	549	Janis E. Dismus Middle School	Public	6-8	325 Tryon Avenue	Englewood	07631	Bergen County	Englewood Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(201) 862-6005	525	52	10	80.6%	22 (4.2%)	123 (23.4%)	361 (68.8%)	11 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	7 (1.3%)	$11,153			$201			$10,952	25.2	19.8	601	52
341812003680	550	Fords Middle School	Public	6-8	Fanning Street	Fords	08863	Middlesex County	Woodbridge Township School District	No	(n/a)	No	No	(732) 596-4200	575	62	9.2	56.9%	123 (21.4%)	67 (11.7%)	281 (48.9%)	96 (16.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.4%)	$8,737						$8,737	25.2	29.6	522	28

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New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for NJ student subgroups:

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About our rankings:

Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on NJSLA English Language Arts, NJSLA Mathematics, NJSLA Algebra I, NJSLA Geometry, NJSLA Algebra II, NJSLA-S Science test scores released by the New Jersey Department of Education.
These rankings were last updated on December 4, 2024, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the New Jersey Department of Education, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the New Jersey Department of Education.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

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.