School #1, Clifton NJ - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on School #1

School #1 is a regular public elementary school in Clifton, serving students from prekindergarten through fifth grade. It is part of the Clifton Public School District, which the data shows has had few notable recent changes publicly reported, so this narrative focuses on what is known about the school and its community.

Clifton is a dense suburb and regional commercial hub in North Jersey, roughly a 15-mile commute to Midtown Manhattan. The city is crisscrossed by major highways including Route 3, Route 46, the Garden State Parkway, and others, giving it a suburban, car-oriented feel despite some walkable pockets near its two train stations and the Main Mall downtown area. The city spans several distinct neighborhoods, from largely residential areas like Albion Place and Richfield to business districts like Allwood. It is one of New Jersey’s more populous municipalities.

School #1 enrolls a modest number of students for an elementary school, with classes spread across each grade from pre-K through fifth. The student body is notably diverse. The largest group is Hispanic, followed by a sizable white population, with smaller shares of Asian, Black, and multiracial students. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the school serves a community with significant economic need. Data on English learner and special education identification was not available, so families may want to ask the school directly about these supports.

On the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments, the school’s results vary by subject and grade. In mathematics, the share of students scoring proficient or above was fairly consistent across grades three through five, hovering around two in five. In English language arts, third-grade performance was lower, with about one in four students reaching proficiency, but fourth and fifth graders did better, with roughly two in five to just under half scoring proficient. Fifth-grade science results showed a lower proficiency rate compared to the other subjects, something a parent may want to inquire about further. When compared across elementary schools in Passaic County, the school’s overall proficiency index sits above the midpoint among county districts, a solid relative position.

Because School #1 only serves elementary grades, there is no graduation rate or chronic absenteeism rate to report. These measures simply do not apply here, and their absence does not reflect on the school’s performance.

The school is located on Park Slope in Clifton, in one of the city’s residential neighborhoods. Housing in the area reflects the broader county market, where home values are moderate for the region and the rental market is competitive. Families considering a move to this part of Clifton will find a mix of older homes and some newer listings, with the highway access that defines the city’s commuting pattern.

In sum, School #1 is a neighborhood elementary school with a diverse, low-income student body and academic results that are above the midpoint among its county peers, though with clear variation across subjects and grades. It fits families looking for a local public school in a commuter-heavy suburb with strong highway and limited rail links, and who are comfortable engaging with the school about areas where proficiency dips, particularly in early literacy and elementary science.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 340%

School 40% · District 47% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 440%

School 40% · District 39% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 36% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 326%

School 26% · District 34% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 447%

School 47% · District 44% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 43% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 19% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

This schoolClifton Public 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 4Lower-income46%Higher-income50%4 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income32%Higher-income60%28 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income42%Higher-income30%12 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income30%Higher-income69%39 pp gap