Lakewood Township School District, NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Lakewood Township School District

The Lakewood Township School District in Ocean County is a public school system serving students from preschool through twelfth grade. It is a district in transition, defined by a steep drop in enrollment that has triggered a major reconfiguration of its schools, and by state assessment results that place academic performance well below the norms of its county peers.

The district is composed of nearly a dozen school buildings, though this is changing. The district’s newly adopted strategic plan, publicly reported, calls for the closure of multiple schools as of the end of the 2024-2025 school year. Piner Elementary School, Ella G. Clarke School, and the three campuses of the Lakewood Early Childhood Center are all slated to close, with buildings either sold, leased, or repurposed for office use. In their place, every remaining school will shift grade bands for the following year. Oak Street School will serve preschool through second grade, Clifton Avenue Grade School will take grades three through five, Spruce Street School will house preschool and kindergarten, and Lakewood Middle School will expand to include grades six through eight. These are not temporary adjustments; they are a structural overhaul driven by an enrollment decline that the district itself describes as steep over roughly a decade-long stretch. For any family living in Lakewood, the first question is which building their child will attend, a fact that may change from one year to the next.

On state assessments, the district’s performance is low. In math, proficiency rates hover in the low to mid-twenties for most elementary grades, then drop sharply to a very small share of students reaching the proficient level by the end of middle school. In English language arts, results are somewhat higher, with a modest share of students reaching proficiency in the middle grades and a somewhat lower share in the early elementary and eighth-grade years. Science scores are an area of particular concern, with a very low share of students meeting the state benchmark at both the fifth- and eighth-grade levels. When compared with other districts in Ocean County, the overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile. A parent considering this district will want to look into what academic support the schools offer, especially in math and science, and what the new strategic plan intends to do about these results.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with smaller shares of white and Black students and a very small Asian population. The district’s enrollment of roughly that size for a preK-12 system means that the remaining schools will be handling a significant population, but one that is noticeably smaller than in previous years. The district’s chronic absenteeism rate, as reported in the county comparison, is near the middle of the pack among Ocean County districts, which is a more typical result.

The housing context for Lakewood is relatively expensive for the region. Home values in the single ZIP code that makes up the district are well above the national benchmark, and the median asking price for homes in the county has seen a minor year-over-year decline, though the overall market remains tight with a limited number of homes for sale. Rents are also above the national average, and the cost of renting consumes a sizable share of a typical household’s income. The national economic context of a moderately high mortgage rate and a low unemployment rate applies here as well.

The district’s per-pupil spending is in the upper range among Ocean County districts, though what that spending buys has not translated into above-average academic outcomes. A parent or resident reading this may want to ask how the district plans to allocate its resources after the closures and whether the strategic plan’s goals include specific targets for improving proficiency rates. The available data does not include information on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals, nor on the number of students with disabilities or English learners, so a parent should ask the district directly about these support populations. No graduation rate was reported in the available data, so a family with a high schooler will want to seek that number from the district itself.

What emerges is a district that is remaking itself physically and structurally, but has not yet shown evidence of a corresponding academic turnaround. It serves a community that is diverse and facing a relatively expensive housing market. It may be a fit for a family that is willing to engage closely with the district during a period of upheaval and who will monitor the outcomes of the new strategic plan closely. For those seeking consistently strong test scores or a stable roster of school buildings, the current picture is more cautious.

See more original research from School Decision →

District Context

Officially reported figures, 2024-25.

Enrollment

4,694

Grades

PK–12

Schools

Student body

Hispanic 80%

Black 6%

White 12%

Asian 1%

Two+ 1%

Hawaiian / Pac. Isl. 0%

By economic status

Percent proficient by grade, as reported

Economically disadvantaged

Not disadvantaged

ELA

Gr 3

23%

25%

Gr 4

32%

42%

Gr 5

44%

29%

Gr 6

46%

29%

Gr 7

37%

50%

Gr 8

32%

13%

Math

Gr 3

28%

30%

Gr 4

27%

21%

Gr 5

18%

17%

Gr 6

22%

24%

Gr 7

19%

23%

Gr 8

Science

Gr 5

11%

Gr 8

Schools in this District

8 schools are officially reported under this district.

Lakewood Early Childhood Center

Piner Elementary School

Lakewood High School

Clifton Ave Grade School

Ella G Clarke Elementary School

Lakewood Middle School

Spruce Street Elementary School

Oak Street Elem School

Academic Performance

Percent of students meeting or exceeding state standards, by grade.

Mathematics

6 grades reported

28%

Grade 3

27%

Grade 4

18%

Grade 5

22%

Grade 6

20%

Grade 7

Grade 8

English Language Arts

6 grades reported

23%

Grade 3

33%

Grade 4

43%

Grade 5

45%

Grade 6

38%

Grade 7

31%

Grade 8

Science

2 grades reported

Grade 5

Grade 8

Housing & Real Estate

Data as of April 2026 | District-weighted from constituent ZIP codes

Home Values

Typical home value$577,895

Year-over-year change+7.8%

vs. state typical1.01x

vs. national typical1.57x

Home value trend (12 months)

ZIP code home values (1 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Value	YoY	Weight
08701	Lakewood	$578K	+7.8%	100.0%

Rental Market

Typical monthly rent$2,119/mo

Rent trend (12 months)

ZIP code rents (1 ZIP codes)

ZIP	City	Rent/mo	YoY	Weight
08701	Lakewood	$2,119	—	100.0%

Affordability

Est. monthly mortgage (20% down at 6.48%)$2,916/mo

Home price / national median income6.9x

Annual rent / national median income30.4%

Est. mortgage exceeds rent by$797/mo

Market Activity: Ocean County

Median listing price$529,900

Median listing price YoY-6.2%

Median price per sq ft$313

Median price per sq ft YoY+1.0%

Median days on market36.0 days

Median days on market YoY-2.0%

Active listings2,490

Active listings YoY+7.2%

New listings1,256

New listings YoY+12.9%

Pending listings1,520

Pending listings YoY-1.5%

Hotness: median listing price$535,000

Hotness: median listing price YoY-9.6%

Supply score86.2

Supply score YoY+6.8%

Demand score59.9

Demand score YoY+2.7%

Median listing price (12 months)

Median price per sq ft (12 months)

Median days on market (12 months)

Active listings (12 months)

New listings (12 months)

Pending listings (12 months)

Hotness: median listing price (12 months)

Supply score (12 months)

Demand score (12 months)

Comparison

State typical home value$571,373 (+3.4% YoY)

National typical home value$368,198 (+0.6% YoY)

State ZHVI trend (12 months)

National ZHVI trend (12 months)

Economic Context

30-year fixed mortgage rate6.48%

National unemployment rate4.3%

National median household income$83,730

CPI: Rent of shelter (index)447.05

30-year fixed mortgage rate (12 months)

National unemployment rate (12 months)

National median household income (12 months)

CPI: Rent of shelter (index) (12 months)

Sources: Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index (Zillow Group), Realtor.com via Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED)

Data Currently Unavailable

Civil Rights Data (CRDC)

This profile is derived exclusively from publicly available federal and state datasets. It may not reflect the most current information available. We encourage parents and families to supplement this data with information published directly on the school’s website, which may include more recent figures, additional programs, or updated enrollment data.