The top reported proficiency rate is 44% in English language arts. The lowest is 13% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on School #14
School #14 is a regular public elementary school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Clifton, New Jersey, part of the Clifton Public School District. It sits within a dense suburb roughly fifteen miles west of Midtown Manhattan, a city of distinct neighborhoods crisscrossed by major highways and served by two NJ Transit train stations. Clifton grew steadily through recent decades and remains a regional commercial hub and a bedroom community for New York City commuters, with a suburban built environment oriented around highway corridors rather than a single walkable downtown.
The school enrolls a student body that is diverse in its composition. Hispanic students make up the largest share, followed closely by white students, with smaller proportions of Asian and Black students. Just over half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of economic need that is substantial but not a majority. The grade-by-grade enrollment is fairly even across kindergarten through fifth grade, with a very small pre-kindergarten program. Data on the share of students with individualized education plans or English learner status was not available in the source materials, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the supports available for these populations.
On the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment, the school’s performance shows a mixed picture across subjects and grade levels. In English language arts, fourth graders posted the strongest results, with a majority of students meeting proficiency standards. Third graders were close behind, while fifth graders saw a smaller share reach the bar. In math, third graders performed best among the tested grades, with roughly half proficient; fourth and fifth graders were lower, with about a third proficient in each. Science, which is tested only in fifth grade, saw a small share of students reach proficiency, a softer area a parent may want to discuss with the school to understand how science instruction and curriculum are structured. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint among districts in Passaic County, meaning it performs better than the typical district in the county but not at the top of the range.
Because School #14 serves only through fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. The data did not include chronic absenteeism figures, participation rates on state assessments, or information on course offerings, staffing, or discipline. These are notable gaps; a family considering this school would need to seek out that information directly from the district or school office to get a fuller picture of the learning environment and student experience.
Housing in Clifton’s ZIP code area is relatively expensive. Typical home values put buying out of reach for many households, and rents are also high, well above what a renter would typically budget if following standard affordability guidelines. The mortgage payment on a median-priced home in the area would consume a large share of even a solid middle-class income. The county housing market shows the typical home listing at a price that continues to rise modestly year over year. The broader national economic picture, with mortgage rates at elevated levels, adds to the affordability challenge.
The district brief turned up no recent changes such as referendums, curriculum shifts, or property tax adjustments that would immediately alter a family’s calculation. Clifton Public School District does not appear to have had a major public-facing change in the recent period that was widely reported.
School #14 offers families a diverse, mid-sized elementary school within a large suburban district, set in a commuter city with strong highway and rail access to New York City. Academic performance is mixed, with a clear bright spot in fourth-grade literacy, some solid third-grade math results, and weaker science outcomes. The overall proficiency index relative to other Passaic County districts is above average. The key missing pieces—special education and English learner data, chronic absenteeism, staffing ratios, and program specifics—are worth investigating before making an enrollment decision.
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