Texas Avenue School, Atlantic City NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Texas Avenue School

Texas Avenue School serves children from kindergarten through eighth grade as part of the Atlantic City School District. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and sits within Atlantic City, a seaside resort community where a large-scale tourism and casino economy coexists with older residential neighborhoods. The city draws millions of visitors annually to its Boardwalk, beaches, and casino properties, but the year-round residential areas inland are markedly different from the tourist corridor. The civic and commercial life of the city is centered on the Boardwalk, while the school is located on Arctic Avenue in the city's residential fabric.

The student body is diverse. The largest share of students is Hispanic, followed by a substantial Asian population, with smaller numbers of Black students and a handful of white and multiracial students. Nearly every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the school serves a community with very high economic need. The school does not provide data on the share of students with disabilities or English learners, which is a gap a parent may want to clarify directly with the school.

On state assessments, the picture is mixed and mostly shows significant challenges. In English language arts, the school's results vary by grade. Fourth grade posted a notably stronger outcome, where a meaningful share of students met or exceeded the state's proficiency standard. Fifth, seventh, and eighth grade also showed a moderate share of students reaching that bar. Third and sixth grade were lower, with fewer than one in five students proficient. In math, the pattern is more consistent and concerning. Across every tested grade, the share of students scoring proficient was low. Fourth grade was the relative high point, with roughly one in four students proficient, while every other grade was below one in five. In eighth grade, the share was very small. In science, which is tested in fifth and eighth grade, proficiency rates were also low. The overall proficiency index, which combines all tested subjects and grades, places Texas Avenue School in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Atlantic County.

Because the school serves only up to eighth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report. The school's performance reflects the realities of a high-poverty urban school, and the test results are among the weaker ones in the county. A parent considering this school will want to discuss the school's approach to academic support, interventions, and how it works to move students toward grade-level proficiency.

The district itself has been in the news for a bond referendum, publicly reported, though details on what passed or changed were not available in the data provided. The housing context in Atlantic City shows a market where home values are well below the state average, and rents are also below the state median. The county's housing market shows a modest supply of listings with prices holding fairly steady, and homes typically go under contract in under two months.

The school sits in a city that has seen population decline over recent decades, even as significant investment has flowed into casino and resort properties. This creates a dynamic where the tourism economy is heavily promoted and invested in, while the resident population and its public institutions face persistent economic strain. Texas Avenue School operates in that context, serving a student population that is almost entirely low-income, and its academic results reflect that challenge. There are no program offerings listed in the available data, so a family should ask the school directly about any special academic programs, extracurriculars, or support services available. The school is a straightforward neighborhood elementary and middle school in a high-need urban district, and its test scores suggest that many students are not yet on grade level.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 36%

School 6% · District 21% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 44 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 424%

School 24% · District 20% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 19% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 618%

School 18% · District 18%

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 712%

School 12% · District 17% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 83%

School 3% · District 12% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 315%

School 15% · District 27% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 441%

School 41% · District 32% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▼ 14 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 531%

School 31% · District 34% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 620%

School 20% · District 35% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 730%

School 30% · District 37% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 832%

School 32% · District 36% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Science

Grade 510%

School 10% · District 11% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 84%

School 4% · District 4%

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

This schoolAtlantic City School District, 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 8Lower-income35%Higher-income18%16 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 8Lower-income4%Higher-income0%4 pp gap