The top reported proficiency rate is 13% in Math. The lowest is 4% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Thurgood Marshall Elementary School
Thurgood Marshall Elementary School serves prekindergarten through fifth grade as part of the Asbury Park School District. It is a regular public school located on Monroe Avenue in Asbury Park, a small, dense beachfront city on the Jersey Shore with a mix of year-round residential blocks, a commercial downtown, and a boardwalk entertainment district anchored by music venues like The Stone Pony and the Paramount Theatre. The school is one of two elementary buildings in a district that has restructured its grade configuration in recent years, with Thurgood Marshall and Bradley Elementary both serving PK through 3 before students move to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School for grades 4 through 6 and then Asbury Park High School for grades 7 through 12.
The student body is made up predominantly of Black and Hispanic students, with a smaller share of white students and very few students of other races. Just over half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure that reflects the economic background of many families in the district. The school enrolls just under 350 students across its grades, with the largest group in prekindergarten, then spreading fairly evenly across kindergarten through fifth grade. Data on English learner and special education populations was not provided, so a family with specific needs in these areas would want to follow up directly with the school about available services.
State testing results for the most recent school year show assessment data for third grade in math and English language arts and for fifth grade in science. Proficiency rates across all three tested subjects were in the single digits, with fewer than one in ten students reaching the levels the state defines as proficient. This positions the school’s overall proficiency performance in the bottom quartile when compared with other districts in Monmouth County, a wide county with a large range of outcomes. The numbers represent only one year of data, and for a parent trying to understand academic trajectory, it would be reasonable to ask the school about trends over time and about specific instructional supports for students who are not yet meeting benchmarks.
The district itself operates with heavy state funding and has experienced a notable decline in enrollment over recent years, conditions that can affect class sizes, available programming, and long-term stability. Families may want to learn more about how the district’s financial situation shapes what is offered at the elementary level and what class sizes look like in practice.
As a school that goes only through fifth grade, Thurgood Marshall does not have a graduation rate to report. The school’s setting in Asbury Park means it sits within a city that has been undergoing sustained revitalization, with new condominium construction, hotel restoration, and downtown commercial activity, but also with blocks that remain slated for redevelopment. Housing in the city is expensive relative to national benchmarks, with home values and rents that reflect the desirability of the shore location. The housing market in Monmouth County as a whole shows a mix of high median listing prices and steady demand. The school is directly in the urban fabric of the city, not on a separated campus, and the compact layout of Asbury Park means that school buildings and civic anchors like the boardwalk, train station, and downtown are close together.
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