College Achieve Paterson Charter School, Paterson NJ

Original Research by School Decision on College Achieve Paterson Charter School

College Achieve Paterson Charter School is a one-site, K-12 charter school in downtown Paterson, and it is a place where the test results tell two very different stories depending on the grade level and subject. The school serves a student body that is almost entirely Hispanic and Black, and a very substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The setting is a dense, historically industrial city that remains a major destination for immigrant communities. For a family considering this school, the academic picture requires close attention to where a child falls in the grade span.

In English language arts, the school posts strong and often very strong results in the elementary and middle grades. Across grades three through eight, proficiency rates are consistently high, reaching into the upper ranges in fourth, fifth, and eighth grade. This is a clear strength and suggests that the school's literacy instruction in those years is effective for the large majority of its students. The same pattern holds in elementary math through grade five, where proficiency rates are also solid. The school's overall proficiency index, which averages performance across tested subjects and grades, places it among the top quarter of schools within Passaic County when compared against the other districts. That is a notable achievement given the high-poverty context.

The drop-off in math starting in sixth grade is sharp, however, and it persists through seventh grade. Proficiency rates in those middle-school years are meaningfully lower than in the earlier grades. Eighth-grade math recovers somewhat but remains below the elementary-level performance. Science results are a separate concern. In fifth grade, the proficiency rate is modest, and in eighth grade it is very low. A parent with a student entering the middle or upper grades would want to ask the school directly about its math and science curriculum, intervention strategies, and any changes planned for those subjects. The school offers grades K through 12, so the same building houses students from early childhood through high school, though the available state testing data covers only grades three through eight. Graduation rate data was not reported, so it is not possible to assess how the school performs in shepherding students to a diploma.

The school environment is shaped by its location on Market Street in downtown Paterson. Paterson is a walkable, dense city with active commercial corridors and a strong immigrant business presence. The Great Falls National Historical Park is adjacent to downtown, and civic institutions like City Hall and the county courthouse are nearby. The school’s charter status means it operates independently of the Paterson Public Schools district, though it draws from the same population. The locale brief notes that Paterson has a poverty rate in the range of a fifth to a quarter of residents, and the school’s own free-lunch data reflects that economic reality. Housing values in the zip code are below the state median but above the national median, and rents have been rising.

The charter itself is part of a small network that uses the name College Achieve, and the school’s own name signals a college-preparatory mission. The district brief did not turn up any recent major changes, policy shifts, or new initiatives that would affect a family’s decision. That absence of public information about the school’s own planning or improvement efforts is itself a gap; a parent may want to ask the school directly about its current priorities and any areas of focus for the coming years.

The fundamental question a parent faces here is whether the strong literacy results in the early and middle years carry through to high school, and whether the math and science struggles in middle school are being addressed effectively. The school has a proven ability to produce high proficiency in ELA across many grade levels, which is a real asset. But the unevenness across subjects and grades means it is not a school where a family can assume consistent academic strength at every level. For a child entering in kindergarten or first grade, the early-grade track record is encouraging. For a child entering in sixth grade or later, the math and science numbers warrant direct conversation with the school about what support is in place.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 360%

School 60% · District 60%

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 463%

School 63% · District 63%

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 572%

School 72% · District 72%

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 46 pts above county median

Grade 634%

School 34% · District 34%

even with state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 727%

School 27% · District 27%

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 847%

School 47% · District 47%

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 379%

School 79% · District 79%

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 44 pts above county median

Grade 487%

School 87% · District 87%

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 43 pts above county median

Grade 589%

School 89% · District 89%

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 51 pts above county median

Grade 665%

School 65% · District 65%

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 770%

School 70% · District 70%

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 881%

School 81% · District 81%

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

Science

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 24%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 89%

School 9% · District 9%

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

This schoolCollege Achieve Paterson Charter School, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 4Lower-income87%Higher-income90%4 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income64%Higher-income75%11 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income70%Higher-income73%3 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income63%Higher-income60%3 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income70%Higher-income90%20 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income35%Higher-income25%10 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income28%Higher-income18%9 pp gap