Knollwood School, Fair Haven NJ - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Knollwood School

Knollwood School is a regular public school in Fair Haven, New Jersey, serving grades four through eight. It is one of two schools in the Fair Haven School District; children in pre-kindergarten through third grade attend Viola L. Sickles School nearby, and after eighth grade students move to Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School in neighboring Rumson. Knollwood’s enrollment is a single cohort for a middle-school grade span, and the school’s academic identity is shaped by the community it serves.

Fair Haven is a small, affluent borough on the Navesink River in Monmouth County. It is almost entirely residential, with no downtown commercial district and a tree-lined character. The housing market is among the most expensive in New Jersey, with home values far above state and national benchmarks. The borough is largely built out, and population growth has been modest. Publicly reported information describes Fair Haven as a high-income community where the majority of households have children, and the school reflects that economic profile. A very small share of Knollwood’s students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school at the extreme low end of economic need compared to most schools statewide. The student body is predominantly white, with small numbers of Hispanic and Asian students. Data on the share of students with disabilities or identified as English learners was not available.

On New Jersey’s state assessments, Knollwood students perform at strong levels overall, and the school ranks in the top quarter of districts in Monmouth County for combined proficiency across tested subjects. English language arts results are particularly high, with well above three-quarters of students scoring proficient or above in every tested grade, and several grades approaching nine in ten. Math results are also solid in grades four through seven, but there is a notable drop in eighth grade, where the share of students meeting proficiency falls below half. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, especially since eighth grade math often includes algebra content that can affect high school placement. Science proficiency, measured in grades five and eight, is moderate, with about half of students reaching the state’s proficiency standard in grade five and a smaller share in grade eight. Participation rates for the assessments were not reported, so it is not possible to confirm that all students were tested.

The school environment data is thin. Information on discipline, chronic absenteeism, staffing ratios, and course access was not available. Because Knollwood is a middle school, there is no graduation rate to report, and the district brief turned up no recent changes or strategic priorities of lasting impact. What is clear from the available evidence is that Knollwood operates in a context of very high affluence and delivers strong academic results in most areas, with a specific soft spot in eighth grade math that may warrant attention.

For a family considering Fair Haven, the housing costs are the primary barrier. Home values are among the highest in the state, and the community is small, tight-knit, and oriented toward riverfront recreation and annual civic traditions like the Fireman’s Fair. The school pathway is straightforward: Knollwood for upper elementary and middle school, then a regional high school shared with Rumson. The peer environment is economically and demographically homogeneous. Families who value very high academic performance in a small, affluent, residential setting will find Knollwood matches that profile. Families looking for economic or racial diversity, or who want to understand the eighth grade math dip before enrolling, would want to ask the school for more detail.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 475%

School 75% · District 75%

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

Grade 579%

School 79% · District 79%

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 672%

School 72% · District 72%

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 778%

School 78% · District 78%

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

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 39%

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 485%

School 85% · District 85%

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 577%

School 77% · District 77%

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

Grade 685%

School 85% · District 85%

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 789%

School 89% · District 89%

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 885%

School 85% · District 85%

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Science

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 55%

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 842%

School 42% · District 42%

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

This schoolFair Haven 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.