The top reported proficiency rate is 39% in English language arts. The lowest is 13% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Belleville Ps4
Belleville PS4 serves students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, a regular public elementary school located within the Belleville Public School District in Essex County. The school is one of ten buildings spread across the densely populated residential township, not gathered on a single campus, so students live in the same neighborhoods where the school sits. Belleville itself has shifted from its industrial past to a community of homes and local stores, and the school reflects that setting.
The student body is small relative to many elementary schools in the area. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a higher-poverty context. The student population is majority Hispanic, with smaller shares of white, Asian, and Black students. Data on the share of students with disabilities and the share of English learners was not available; a parent may want to confirm those figures directly with the school to understand what support staff and programs are in place.
State testing results for the 2024-25 school year show uneven performance across subjects and grades. In English language arts, proficiency rates vary considerably by grade level. The fifth grade posts a rate that is a clear strength, with well over half of students meeting the targeted benchmark. Fourth and sixth grade results are lower, and third grade falls in between. In math, the pattern is more consistently below what a family might hope to see. Fifth grade again stands as the relative high point, but math proficiency in the other tested grades is low, and sixth grade in particular had very few students reaching the benchmark. Science is tested in fifth grade only, and that rate is also low. Taken together, the school’s overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quarter when compared with other districts in Essex County, a large and varied county that includes both higher- and lower-performing schools.
For a family considering this school, the central academic picture is that students here, as a group, are working against headwinds. The low raw proficiency numbers, particularly in math, are the kind of measure a parent would want to follow up on in person, asking the principal and classroom teachers how the school identifies struggling students and what interventions are in place. The fifth-grade English results show that strong performance is possible within this building, which suggests that effective instruction exists and that the challenge is less about a simple lack of capacity and more about consistency across grades and subjects.
The district itself has made a publicly reported investment in facilities, with voters approving a bond referendum in early 2022 aimed at roof replacements, HVAC upgrades, security enhancements, and ADA compliance projects across multiple schools. That capital work touches PS4 along with the district’s other buildings, meaning the physical plant may see ongoing improvements. Housing in the area places Belleville within the Essex County market, where home values have risen moderately and rents have held relatively steady. A family looking at the neighborhood should weigh the school’s academic challenges alongside the affordability of the area relative to more expensive parts of the county.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. There is no data on chronic absenteeism, course access, or staffing ratios, which are significant gaps for a family trying to gauge day-to-day conditions. Because this is an elementary school, some of the metrics commonly used for older students do not apply. But the absence of attendance data is worth noting; a parent could ask the school directly for its chronic absenteeism rate to understand whether regular attendance is a broad issue.
Belleville PS4 is a neighborhood elementary school serving a largely Hispanic, low-income student body in a dense suburban township. Its academic profile, based on the most recent state assessments, shows pockets of strength in fifth-grade literacy alongside broad and persistent weakness in mathematics and science. A parent choosing this school will want to engage early and often with the staff about what supports are available for students who are behind grade level. The physical infrastructure of the district is receiving attention, and the community is a settled residential one with modest growth. The school fits a family that is prepared to be an active partner in their child’s academic progress and that values a walkable, integrated neighborhood school over a larger consolidated campus.
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