The top reported proficiency rate is 59% in English language arts. The lowest is 47% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Chesterfield Township Elementary School
Chesterfield Township Elementary School is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, the sole school in the Chesterfield Township School District. It sits in Chesterfield, a Burlington County township that blends preserved farmland with concentrated residential development, most notably in Old York Village, a New Urbanism community built under a transfer-of-development-credits program that directs growth to that village while protecting agricultural land elsewhere. The school itself was built as part of that village, integrated into the neighborhood rather than set on a separate campus. The historic village of Chesterfield, originally Recklesstown, has a compact crossroads core with a historic district listed on the National Register. For grades seven through twelve, students attend the Northern Burlington County Regional School District, which operates on a regional campus outside the township.
The school’s enrollment is moderate for an elementary building serving pre-K through sixth. A very small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating an affluent community overall. The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Asian population and smaller shares of Hispanic, Black, and multiracial students. This composition reflects the township’s recent growth: Chesterfield has experienced rapid population increases in recent decades, driven by Old York Village construction. Housing values in the area are high, and the housing market is competitive.
Academically, Chesterfield Elementary posted a proficiency index—the average of reported proficiency rates across tested subjects and grades—that placed it in the top quartile among the forty-four districts in Burlington County. That is a strong performance relative to its county peers. Looking at individual grade-level results, ELA proficiency generally runs higher than math, with fifth graders showing the strongest reading scores and third graders the lowest. Math proficiency across grades sits in a modest range, with fourth and fifth graders somewhat stronger than third and sixth graders. In science, tested in fifth grade, about half of students met the state’s proficiency standard. These results are based on the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments.
A parent may notice that while the school’s overall standing is solid, math scores are softer than ELA, and there is variation from grade to grade. Talking with the school about how they support students who need extra help in math could be useful. No chronic absenteeism or discipline data was available in the provided sources, so those dimensions cannot be assessed here. Because the school serves only through sixth grade, there is no graduation rate.
The Chesterfield Township School District itself has seen few publicly reported changes in recent years that would directly affect a parent’s experience. The new school building opened as a replacement in recent years, having been funded by a voter-approved referendum. That facility is located within the Old York Village development, which includes neighborhood commercial facilities and open space. The broader township remains largely rural and auto-dependent outside the village centers, but the school’s location in a planned walkable community gives it a different feel from a typical rural elementary campus.
For families considering this school, the main picture is of a well-performing elementary in an affluent, fast-growing township with a distinctive development pattern that preserves farmland while concentrating new homes and services in one village. The school’s size is manageable, its student body is relatively homogeneous economically and racially, and its academic outcomes compare favorably with other schools across Burlington County. The transition to a regional middle and high school after sixth grade is a structural feature that families should factor into their planning, as the regional district operates on a separate campus with its own culture and programs.
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