The top reported proficiency rate is 69% in English language arts. The lowest is 20% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Hasbrouck Heights Middle School
Hasbrouck Heights Middle School serves sixth through eighth grade students in a single, compact building at 365 Boulevard, the main commercial street of this inner-ring Bergen County borough. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and is the only middle school in the Hasbrouck Heights School District.
The student body is predominantly white and Hispanic, together accounting for the large majority of enrollment. The remainder includes Asian students, with smaller shares of Black students, multiracial students, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. Economic disadvantage as measured by free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is present but not dominant; a modest share of students qualify. The school draws from a community that is largely built out, a dense, compact borough where most Manhattan-bound commuters walk to catch a bus on Boulevard.
Academically, the picture varies notably by subject and by grade. In English language arts, the school posts strong numbers in sixth and seventh grades, with a clear majority of students scoring proficient or above on the state assessment. In eighth grade, proficiency is lower, though still above half of tested students. Math shows a similar but steeper grade-level pattern: sixth-grade proficiency is solid, seventh-grade is still above half, and eighth-grade proficiency falls to a point where most students are not reaching the proficient mark. On the eighth-grade science assessment, results are very low, with only a minority of students reaching the proficiency threshold. The overall proficiency index for the school, across all tested subjects and grades, sits below the midpoint relative to districts in Bergen County. A parent considering this school will want to understand how the school supports students as they move into the upper middle grades, particularly in math and science, where the drop-off is sharp.
The school itself is part of a district that is in the middle of several curriculum-wide shifts. Middle school students will be learning math through the district’s SAVVAS enVision program, now in its second year of implementation. The district has also committed to a Science of Reading approach in English language arts, which would affect incoming sixth graders’ foundational skills but may also influence how reading instruction is delivered across content areas. Additionally, the district is deliberately embedding instructional technology and artificial intelligence tools into daily classroom work. These are active, ongoing changes, not distant plans, so a family enrolling now will experience them directly.
Because Hasbrouck Heights Middle School only serves grades six through eight, there is no graduation rate to report. That measure applies to the high school. Data on chronic absenteeism and special population counts, such as students with IEPs or English learners, was not available in the materials reviewed, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about how it supports students with individualized learning needs.
The community context matters here. Hasbrouck Heights is a dense, walkable borough where the middle school sits on the main commercial strip. The housing market is expensive. Home values and rents are both high relative to national benchmarks, and the area has seen steady price growth. The borough is effectively built out, so the school’s enrollment is unlikely to swing sharply from new development. This is a place where families often stay put, which can contribute to a stable peer group from year to year.
For a family weighing this school, the strongest signal is in English language arts in the earlier middle grades, where proficiency is a clear strength. The math and science numbers, especially by eighth grade, are softer and worth a direct conversation with the school about curriculum, intervention, and how the new district-wide math program is expected to affect those results. The district’s active curriculum changes suggest a leadership team that is not standing still, but the proof will be in whether those changes move the eighth-grade numbers over time.
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