John L. Costley Middle School, East Orange NJ

Original Research by School Decision on John L. Costley Middle School

John L. Costley Middle School serves grades six through eight in East Orange, a dense city in Essex County that blends urban density with tree-lined residential streets and direct rail service to Manhattan. The school is part of the East Orange School District, and its enrollment is small for a middle school. The student body is predominantly Black, with a substantial Hispanic population and very small shares of other racial and ethnic groups. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

State testing results for the most recent school year show that proficiency rates across math, English language arts, and science are low. In seventh-grade math, the share of students scoring proficient or above was in the single digits, and in eighth-grade math it was slightly higher but still low. English language arts results followed a similar pattern, with single-digit proficiency in seventh grade and a modest increase in eighth grade. Science results for eighth graders were very low. The school's overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested subjects and grades, places it in the bottom quartile among middle schools in Essex County. A parent considering this school will want to look into what academic supports and interventions are in place, and how the school is working to raise these outcomes.

The school serves grades six through eight, though enrollment data shows no sixth graders in the most recent count, with the student body concentrated in seventh and eighth grades. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. Information on special education and English learner populations was not available in the data provided, nor were details on discipline, staffing, or course access. A parent may want to ask the school directly about these areas.

East Orange itself is a dense city of roughly that size for its geography, with a mix of urban and suburban housing stock. It is designated as a Transit Village, and its two NJ Transit train stations provide direct service to midtown Manhattan, making it a practical location for commuters. Commercial activity runs along Main Street and Central Avenue, and healthcare is the dominant employment sector, anchored by a VA Medical Center and a community hospital. The city has seen population growth in recent years and describes itself as a place of urban renewal, with a Transit Village designation supporting development around its train stations. The district brief turned up little in the way of recent major changes or strategic initiatives, so that context is not available here.

For a family weighing this school, the central facts are the low state test results and the school's position relative to other middle schools in Essex County. The school serves a predominantly Black and Hispanic student body in a city with good transit access to New York and a mix of housing types. The academic numbers are the main thing to investigate further.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 74%

School 4% · District 13% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 812%

School 12% · District 9% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 79%

School 9% · District 33% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 49 pts below state median · ▼ 41 pts below county median

Grade 817%

School 17% · District 34% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 41 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Science

Grade 81%

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

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 4 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 6Lower-income24%Higher-income19%5 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income5%Higher-income13%8 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income23%Higher-income9%14 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income8%Higher-income3%6 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income4%Higher-income4%0 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income15%Higher-income9%6 pp gap