The top reported proficiency rate is 52% in English language arts. The lowest is 8% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on John P Holland Charter School School District
The John P Holland Charter School School District is a single-school charter district serving grades pre-kindergarten through eight in Passaic County, New Jersey. Because its grade band ends at eighth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report. The district operates as a standalone entity; the building itself is the John P. Holland Charter School. The district brief turned up no recent parent-relevant changes, so the academic and demographic picture below represents the school’s current steady state.
State testing results from the 2024-25 school year give a mixed read. In English language arts, several grade levels post strong proficiency rates. Third grade, sixth grade, and particularly seventh grade show a large majority of students meeting the Level 4-5 threshold. Eighth grade falls just above the halfway mark, while fourth and fifth grades are lower, around the one-third mark. In math, the pattern is different. Third grade shows a little over half of students proficient, but every grade from fourth through eighth hovers well below that, with only a fifth to a third of students reaching proficiency. Science results are a soft spot. On the fifth-grade assessment, fewer than one in ten students scored at the proficient level (Levels 3-4 in New Jersey’s science assessment), and the eighth-grade result is similarly low. A parent may want to look into what math and science supports the school offers, especially as students move into the upper elementary and middle grades.
When placed among Passaic County’s districts, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades lands roughly in the middle range. That is a fair descriptor: the school’s composite sits near the county median. Per-pupil spending is similarly near the middle, slightly above the midpoint for the county. Chronic absenteeism, however, runs a bit above the county median, which is a noted concern. The school reported an absenteeism rate that places it on the higher side among its county peers. This is worth asking about, as attendance patterns can affect both instruction and peer environment.
Enrollment is moderate in size for a PK-08 school, with a clear tilt in student composition. The vast majority of students are Hispanic, with a smaller Black population and very small numbers of Asian, white, and American Indian students. Data on economic disadvantage, special education, and English learner status are missing from the available records, so a family cannot gauge the share of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch or the extent of individualized instruction and language support. That gap may reflect the school’s charter reporting practices; a family would want to ask directly. The school’s website may offer more on these programs.
No information on course access, gifted programs, or extracurricular offerings is present in the data. Likewise, there is no locale brief for the school’s community, so the narrative cannot describe the surrounding town or housing market. A prospective parent is left to fill that context separately.
Overall, this is a charter district that shows a notable strength in English language arts in several grades but struggles in math and science, especially in the later elementary and middle years. Its student body is heavily Hispanic and moderately sized. Chronic absenteeism runs higher than the county average. For a family considering this school, the key next steps would be to understand the math and science instruction, to ask about special populations support and attendance interventions, and to learn about the broader community setting on their own.
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