The top reported proficiency rate is 71% in English language arts. The lowest is 22% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Carl H. Kumpf School
Carl H. Kumpf School serves as the only middle school in Clark, New Jersey, a residential Union County township often described as a relative value next to pricier neighbors like Westfield and Cranford. The school handles grades six through eight for the Clark Township Public School District, drawing from the district’s two elementary schools and feeding into Arthur L. Johnson High School. Students from neighboring Garwood also join the district at the high school level.
The school sits on Mildred Terrace, a residential street, and like the township itself, it lacks a downtown campus. The district’s five buildings are spread across town, each on its own parcel. Clark is car-dependent by design, with winding suburban roads feeding into major arterials. The Rahway River Parkway and the Clark Reservoir provide notable green space, but there is no traditional walkable commercial core.
Kumpf’s enrollment is moderate for a middle school serving only three grades, and the student body is predominantly white, with a measurable Hispanic share and small Asian, Black, and multiracial populations. The share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch is very low, well below district and state averages, signaling a relatively affluent catchment. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available; a parent may want to ask the school directly about how those populations are supported.
On state assessments, the school shows a clear split between English language arts and math. Across all three tested grades, ELA proficiency is on strong ground, with a solid majority of students meeting the state’s college-and-career-ready bar. That result ranks well above the midpoint among Union County’s middle schools. Math proficiency is less consistent. It starts at a moderate level in sixth grade, rises slightly in seventh, then drops sharply in eighth to a much weaker level, the lowest of the three. Science results for eighth graders are similarly low. A family moving from a school with uniformly high math scores may want to look into how the school addresses this drop-off, particularly whether curriculum or staffing patterns change in eighth grade and what interventions are in place.
Because Kumpf ends at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. No chronic absenteeism data was available either, so it is not possible to gauge how many students miss substantial school time.
The comparison set, which places this school among districts in Union County, shows the overall proficiency index across subjects and grades landing above the county’s median. That is a solid position, though it is driven more by strength in reading than by math.
Housing in Clark carries a meaningful price tag. Home values sit well above the national median, and the county housing market is active, with a median listing price that reflects the area’s desirability. Rents and mortgage costs are high relative to national benchmarks. The real estate guide description of Clark as “the Union County value play you’re missing” suggests it offers something close to the suburban amenity of higher-cost towns at a slightly lower entry point, but it is not inexpensive by any broader measure.
The district brief turned up no recent bond referendums, curriculum overhauls, or school boundary changes that would signal a shift in direction. That may simply mean the district has been operating without major disruption, but families moving in should verify current conditions directly.
Carl H. Kumpf School fits a family looking for a solid middle school reading program in an affluent, predominantly white suburban setting, with the understanding that math and science results are more uneven and that the community is car-oriented, relatively pricey, and stable rather than in a period of rapid change.
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