Creative Arts High School, Camden NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Creative Arts High School

Creative Arts High School is a public high school in Camden, New Jersey, serving grades nine through twelve. It sits within the Camden City School District and operates as a regular public school. The enrollment is small, and the student body is predominantly Black and Hispanic, with a much smaller share of students identifying as white, two or more races, or American Indian or Alaska Native. About half of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure that indicates a substantial share of families have lower household incomes.

The school provides a focused creative arts pathway, which for families considering it is the central characteristic. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, but its name signals a thematic concentration. The small size means students are likely to have a more personalized experience and close relationships with teachers and peers, though this also means a narrower range of course options compared to a very large comprehensive high school.

On state assessments, which in New Jersey are the NJSLA, the school's proficiency rates show a mixed picture that depends heavily on subject and grade level. In English language arts, the school performs at a level that would be considered moderate compared to state averages, with proficiency rates that varied across grades six through eight in the most recent available testing year. The rates were notably higher in the upper middle grades than in the lower ones. In mathematics, the proficiency rates were low across those same grades, with a small percentage of students reaching the proficient or above level. In eighth-grade science, the proficiency rate was also low. These results come from a year when New Jersey had transitioned to a new assessment, which means direct comparisons to prior years are not straightforward, and they reflect a single point in time. The school's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits below the midpoint relative to other districts in Camden County. This is a meaningful comparison because it places the school within the same regional context and set of economic conditions. A parent considering this school would want to look into the academic supports available for students who need to build foundational skills in math and science.

Camden itself is a dense, urban city directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, linked by the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. Historically a major industrial center, it lost most of its manufacturing base in the mid- to late twentieth century and has since been reshaping its economy around healthcare and education, often called the "eds and meds" sector. Major employers in the city include Cooper University Hospital, Rutgers University–Camden, and Rowan University, as well as corporate headquarters like Subaru of America and American Water that relocated to the waterfront. The waterfront area has been the focus of redevelopment since the 1990s, with attractions such as the Adventure Aquarium and the Battleship New Jersey drawing visitors, and the city continues to pursue development on former industrial sites. Despite these investments, the city's population has experienced a modest decline over recent decades. The housing market in the area, based on county-level data, reflects a typical pattern for an older industrial city near a major metro, with median listing prices lower than the state benchmark. The school is located on Park Boulevard, placing it in the city's urban grid, and for families living in Camden, it is a neighborhood school reachable by local transit and roads.

The district that operates the school, Camden City School District, had no publicly reported recent changes or strategic initiatives that would shift a family's experience, so there is little to add about district-level direction. What matters most is the school itself and the city environment it serves. For a family that values a small, arts-focused high school in an urban setting and is prepared to engage with the academic supports that the school's testing data suggests are needed, Creative Arts High School offers a coherent fit. For families prioritizing high tested proficiency in math and science, the school's results would be a serious consideration.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=90%Cohort of 55 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

425 schools plotted. 7 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 67%

School 7% · District 5% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 713%

School 13% · District 7% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 821%

School 21% · District 2% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 636%

School 36% · District 11% · ▲ 25 pts above district

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

Grade 754%

School 54% · District 11% · ▲ 43 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 863%

School 63% · District 9% · ▲ 55 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Science

Grade 85%

School 5% · District 0% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

This schoolCamden 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 7Lower-income30%Higher-income71%41 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income30%Higher-income0%30 pp gap