The top reported proficiency rate is 40% in English language arts. The lowest is 6% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Freehold Intermediate School
Freehold Intermediate School serves sixth through eighth grade in the Freehold Borough School District, a single public middle school for a borough that is the county seat of Monmouth County and a commuter town roughly a half-hour from Manhattan. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and sits on Park Avenue within the borough’s denser downtown fabric, where government buildings, Victorian-era homes, and local businesses cluster around Court Street and Main Street. The setting is walkable at its core, with a Transit Village designation, while the broader Freeholds region includes a more suburban and rural township with extensive open space.
Enrollment at the school is a mid-sized cohort for a grades 6-8 building, divided fairly evenly across three grade levels. The student body is heavily Hispanic, with a modest share of white students and small numbers of Black and Asian students. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a high-poverty context. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not available for this review.
State testing results on the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment show a pattern that families will want to examine closely. In English language arts, seventh graders posted the strongest performance, with roughly half of students scoring proficient or above. Sixth and eighth graders were lower, each below half. In math, proficiency rates were notably weaker across all three grades, with eighth grade math particularly low. Science results for eighth graders were also low. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested subjects and grades, sits in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Monmouth County. For a family assessing academic preparation, these numbers point to a school where many students are not meeting grade-level benchmarks, especially in math and science. A parent may want to follow up with the school about targeted support, tutoring, and what interventions are in place for students who are below proficiency.
There is no state testing data for earlier grades because the school begins at sixth grade, so there is no earlier baseline to compare. The school does not serve high school grades, so no graduation rate is reported, nor are AP, IB, or dual-credit course offerings applicable to this grade band. No data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or staffing was available for this profile.
The housing market in the area is active. Home values in the zip code are well above the national median, and rents are elevated, reflecting the pressure of the New York commuter shed. The county market shows a moderate pace of sales, with homes spending roughly a month on market. For families moving to Freehold Borough, the cost of entry is high relative to the nation, and the school’s academic performance may be a consideration in home-buying decisions.
The borough has seen population growth in recent years and holds a Center Core Revitalization Plan. The closure of the historic Freehold Raceway in late 2024 could open redevelopment opportunities. No recent district-level changes, such as curriculum overhauls, referendums, or tax shifts, were identified in available sources.
Freehold Intermediate is a school in a walkable, historic downtown borough with a high-poverty, heavily Hispanic student body. Its academic results are soft across the board, with especially low math and science proficiency, and families considering this school should investigate what academic support structures are in place. The school’s urban setting and Transit Village designation make it suitable for families who prioritize walkability and downtown proximity, but the academic profile suggests a need for close engagement with the school’s instructional programs.
See more original research from School Decision →