Gloucester City Middle School, Gloucester City NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Gloucester City Middle School

Gloucester City Middle School serves grades four through eight as a regular public school in the Gloucester City Public School District. It sits on Market Street in a compact, older river town directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia. The city is dense, with a traditional street grid, and its economy leans heavily on transportation and warehousing, consistent with its position near bridge and highway connections. Home values here fall well below the state and county medians, reflecting a community where housing remains relatively affordable for the region. Population growth has been slow, and the small land area limits large-scale new development.

The student body is majority White, with a notable presence of Hispanic and Black students and a smaller Asian population. A substantial share of students come from low-income households, as measured by eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch. Enrollment at the middle school has been climbing, and the school has crossed the formal threshold of overcrowding. The district is working with the New Jersey Schools Development Authority and the state Department of Education on facility solutions, which could lead to changes in attendance boundaries or building expansion in the coming years. The district is an SDA district, meaning the state covers school construction costs, and it recently completed a state-funded roof replacement at the high school.

State testing results from the NJSLA show a clear subject divide. In English language arts, proficiency improves across the grades, reaching a point in eighth grade where more than half of students meet the standard. That is a genuine strength. In contrast, math proficiency is lower across all grade levels, with a particularly soft spot in eighth grade where very few students score proficient. Science results follow a similar pattern, with a small share of students proficient in grade five and a very small share in grade eight. These are areas a parent may want to explore further with the school.

Overall, when measured against other middle-grades schools in Camden County, the school’s combined proficiency index falls below the midpoint of the distribution. The high school graduation rate is not applicable here, since this school does not serve beyond eighth grade. Classroom support data was not available in the records we reviewed, including chronic absenteeism rates, staffing ratios, or discipline figures. A parent looking for that information would need to ask the school directly. State testing participation rates were also missing.

For a family considering this school, the picture is straightforward. Gloucester City Middle School is a neighborhood institution in a dense, working-class river town where housing is more attainable than in many New Jersey suburbs. Academic performance is uneven, with literacy work that shows growth through the grades but math and science results that lag. The overcrowding situation means the district is actively planning for change. A family choosing this school will want to understand the district’s trajectory on facilities and to stay engaged on how the school supports students who need extra help in math and science.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 419%

School 19% · District 19%

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

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 16%

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 622%

School 22% · District 22%

▼ 11 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 723%

School 23% · District 23%

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 89%

School 9% · District 9%

▼ 8 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 432%

School 32% · District 32%

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 36%

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

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 43%

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 742%

School 42% · District 42%

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

Grade 855%

School 55% · District 55%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Science

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 15%

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

Grade 84%

School 4% · District 4%

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

This schoolGloucester City Public 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 4Lower-income28%Higher-income38%10 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income30%Higher-income45%15 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income38%Higher-income49%11 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income38%Higher-income50%12 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income48%Higher-income67%19 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income16%Higher-income23%7 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income10%Higher-income24%14 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income16%Higher-income32%16 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income19%Higher-income31%13 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income7%Higher-income14%7 pp gap