Benjamin Banneker Academy, East Orange NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Benjamin Banneker Academy

Benjamin Banneker Academy is a regular public school in East Orange, serving prekindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the East Orange School District. The school is named for the African American mathematician and astronomer, and it occupies a building on South Clinton Street in a densely developed part of the city.

The student body is predominantly Black, with a much smaller share of Hispanic students and very small numbers of white, Asian, and multiracial students. Around six in ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of lower household income. The school enrolls just under 500 students across ten grades, with the largest classes in the early elementary years and a thinner concentration at the eighth-grade level.

State testing results from the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment show a pattern that shifts by subject and grade. In English language arts, proficiency is low in the early grades but climbs in upper elementary and middle school. In grade three, roughly one in seven students scores at a proficient level. By grade four, that share rises to a little over one in three, and in grade five it sits at just over one in four. In grades six through eight, about half of students or a little more reach the proficient bar, with grade six and grade seven each showing a majority. That upward trend in ELA is a relative bright spot, though the middle school gains start from a low third-grade base.

In math, proficiency rates are low across all tested grades. In grade three, roughly one in six students is proficient. The rate stays near that level in grades four and five, then drops sharply in grade six to below one in ten. Grade seven shows a modest uptick to one in four, but grade eight falls to the lowest point, with only a small share of students meeting the standard. In science, tested in grades five and eight, proficiency is very low, with roughly one in ten in grade five and a negligible share in grade eight.

Compared against other districts in Essex County, Benjamin Banneker Academy’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades falls in the bottom quarter of the county’s districts. That comparison is based on the full set of districts that reported scores; it places the school at the lower end of a county that spans wealthy suburbs and more challenged urban systems. A parent may want to ask the school how it supports students who are behind grade level, particularly in math and science, and what acceleration or intervention programs exist in the upper grades.

The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, and staffing was not available in the records reviewed, so a parent may want to inquire directly about those dimensions of school climate.

East Orange is a city of roughly four square miles with a dense, transit-oriented character. It has two NJ Transit train stations that provide direct service to Manhattan, and the city is designated a Transit Village, a state recognition for walkable, transit-connected development. Commercial anchors include Main Street and Central Avenue, and major employers include CareWell Health Medical Center and a Department of Veterans Affairs medical center. The city’s population has grown in recent years, and it describes itself as a place of urban renewal. Housing in the area is moderately priced relative to the broader New York City region: typical home values and rents are close to the Essex County averages, and the market shows a stable level of listings and demand.

For a family considering Benjamin Banneker Academy, the school offers a neighborhood setting in a city with good transit access. The academic picture is mixed, with upper-grade ELA performance the strongest area and math and science representing clear challenges that a parent would want to understand more fully.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 317%

School 17% · District 31% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 417%

School 17% · District 22% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 20% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 69%

School 9% · District 13% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 725%

School 25% · District 13% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 86%

School 6% · District 9% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 315%

School 15% · District 32% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 439%

School 39% · District 40%

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 38% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

Grade 656%

School 56% · District 41% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 756%

School 56% · District 33% · ▲ 23 pts above district

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

Grade 849%

School 49% · District 34% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 11%

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 83%

School 3% · District 4% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

This schoolEast Orange 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-income16%Higher-income13%3 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income37%Higher-income41%5 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income23%Higher-income36%13 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income57%Higher-income55%2 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income35%Higher-income81%46 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income47%Higher-income50%3 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income18%Higher-income16%2 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income19%Higher-income14%6 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income16%Higher-income23%7 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income7%Higher-income10%3 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income15%Higher-income38%23 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income0%Higher-income11%11 pp gap