William F. Halloran School No.22, Elizabeth NJ

Original Research by School Decision on William F. Halloran School No.22

William F. Halloran School No. 22 is a regular public school in Elizabeth, New Jersey, serving second through eighth grade. It is part of the Elizabeth Public Schools district. Elizabeth is a densely populated, highly diverse urban city and the Union County seat, blending residential neighborhoods with major industrial and port infrastructure, including the Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal and Newark Liberty International Airport. The city’s residents represent dozens of countries and language groups, and its economy is anchored by the port, a major outlet mall, and county government. Housing in the area, reflecting the wider Union County market, has seen relatively steady values, with a median listing price above the national benchmark and a competitive market where homes do not linger long.

Halloran School has a sizable enrollment for a middle-school-spanning building. A large majority of its students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing it in a high-need context. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with smaller shares of Black, White, and Asian students. Data on the share of students with disabilities and those classified as English learners was not available in the set reviewed. As the school does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report.

Where state testing results are available, Halloran’s performance in English language arts is a clear strength. Across grades three through eight, the proportions of students scoring at proficient or advanced levels are consistently high, with several grades seeing a very large majority meeting the bar. Math results are also solid overall, though they show a pattern of decline as students get older: the lower grades post strong proficiency rates, while the middle grades drop to a point where a noticeable minority is not yet at grade level. This is a pattern a parent may want to ask the school about directly. Science results, tested in grades five and eight, are notably softer relative to the other subjects, particularly at the eighth-grade level, where a small share of students reached proficiency. A parent might treat this as an area to investigate further.

When compared against other districts in Union County, Halloran’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places the school in the top quartile. That is a strong signal of academic performance relative to the county’s public school landscape, particularly given the school’s demographic profile and high rate of economic disadvantage.

The district brief, based on publicly available information from the recent period, noted no major parent-relevant changes, such as large boundary shifts, school closures, or new program launches, that would alter the day-to-day experience. That may be a point of stability for families considering the school.

For a family in the Elizabeth area, Halloran presents as a school performing well above what the community’s income and urban density might predict, especially in reading and writing. The drop in math proficiency in the later middle school years and the lower science scores are the softer spots in an otherwise solid academic picture. The school offers the full run from early elementary through middle school in one building, which can appeal to families looking for continuity through the grade span. The urban setting means strong transit access and proximity to the city’s amenities and economic anchors, though housing costs, while lower than the state average, remain substantial. For a parent weighing options, Halloran’s tested academic record is its clearest calling card.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 390%

School 90% · District 37% · ▲ 53 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 49 pts above county median

Grade 482%

School 82% · District 32% · ▲ 50 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 47 pts above county median

Grade 569%

School 69% · District 33% · ▲ 36 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Grade 665%

School 65% · District 26% · ▲ 38 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 381%

School 81% · District 30% · ▲ 51 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 40 pts above county median

Grade 476%

School 76% · District 37% · ▲ 40 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Grade 580%

School 80% · District 40% · ▲ 40 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 686%

School 86% · District 53% · ▲ 33 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

Grade 792%

School 92% · District 56% · ▲ 37 pts above district

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

Grade 888%

School 88% · District 55% · ▲ 34 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Science

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 15% · ▲ 27 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 9% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

This schoolElizabeth Public Schools, 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-income78%Higher-income90%12 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income77%Higher-income74%3 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income73%Higher-income93%20 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income87%Higher-income82%5 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income93%Higher-income91%2 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income89%Higher-income88%1 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income88%Higher-income97%9 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income80%Higher-income87%7 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income66%Higher-income76%10 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income67%Higher-income58%9 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income53%Higher-income63%9 pp gap