East Dover Elementary School, Dover NJ

Original Research by School Decision on East Dover Elementary School

East Dover Elementary serves prekindergarten through sixth grade in Dover, a small, densely built Morris County town with a compact downtown and an industrial history. The school shares its East McFarlan Street site with Dover Middle School, so families with children in both buildings will have a single drop-off point.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a large share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. This is a high-poverty school in a town that is notably more diverse and renter-heavy than much of Morris County. Data on English learner and special education enrollment was not available, a gap that matters for families trying to understand the full support landscape.

On the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments, East Dover Elementary shows a pattern that merits attention. In third-grade math, roughly one in nine students scored proficient; in third-grade English language arts, the share was even lower. By sixth grade, both subjects showed improvement, though proficiency rates remained below the county median. Science results, tested in fifth grade, also fell well below the midpoint of Morris County districts. The overall proficiency index positions the school in the bottom quarter of elementary schools in the county, a fact that families will want to examine closely. The district has seen a prolonged decline in both math and reading proficiency over recent years, and the elementary numbers reflect that broader trend.

The elementary experience here is an urban-style neighborhood school embedded in a walkable town. Dover’s compact grid, Blackwell Street commercial corridor, and NJ Transit rail service to New York City give the town more density and street life than many Morris County suburbs. Several parks are within walking distance, and the school buildings sit among residential streets rather than on isolated campuses. For families who value a town where children can walk to school and downtown is a short stroll, this setting fits that preference.

Housing in Dover is notably less expensive than in most of Morris County. Home values and rents are lower than the county median, and the owner-occupancy rate is below state averages, reflecting a market with many renters. The town has grown in population over the past several years, and redevelopment projects have been underway. A family moving here is buying into a town with a different price point and demographic profile than its higher-income Morris County neighbors.

The district brief notes a significant increase in state aid, which has raised total district revenue. That funding shift matters for resource allocation, though families would want to ask the district how those dollars reach the elementary level.

For a parent considering East Dover Elementary, the central question is academic fit given the measured performance. The school serves a population with many economic needs, and the proficiency numbers are low relative to the county. A family new to the area should seek a conversation with the school about academic supports, intervention programs, and what the rising trend from third to sixth grade looks like in practice for individual students. The absence of published data on English learner and special education counts leaves a real gap in understanding who gets what support.

This is a school that sits in a distinctive town: dense and diverse, with a rail connection to Manhattan, a growing population, and housing costs that stand out as attainable in an otherwise expensive county. The academic picture is the soft point, and the district’s trajectory over recent years reinforces the need for careful inquiry. For families who prioritize affordability and a walkable, urban-style community and are prepared to engage closely with the school about academic progress, this could be a fit. For those seeking a Morris County school with proficiency levels near the county median, the numbers here would likely give them pause.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 311%

School 11% · District 17% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 39 pts below state median · ▼ 56 pts below county median

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 27% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 39 pts below county median

Grade 541%

School 41% · District 19% · ▲ 23 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 639%

School 39% · District 26% · ▲ 13 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 37%

School 7% · District 12% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 38 pts below state median · ▼ 53 pts below county median

Grade 427%

School 27% · District 30% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 44 pts below county median

Grade 561%

School 61% · District 33% · ▲ 28 pts above district

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

Grade 652%

School 52% · District 36% · ▲ 16 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 13% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

This schoolDover 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 3Lower-income5%Higher-income15%11 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income25%Higher-income36%11 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income55%Higher-income80%25 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income48%Higher-income61%13 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income7%Higher-income23%16 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income23%Higher-income36%13 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income34%Higher-income67%33 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income37%Higher-income43%6 pp gap