The top reported proficiency rate is 68% in English language arts. The lowest is 50% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Auten Road Intermediate School
Auten Road Intermediate School serves fifth and sixth graders in Hillsborough Township, a large Somerset County suburb located roughly an hour from Manhattan. Hillsborough is a car-dependent community without a traditional downtown; its schools, municipal offices, and commercial corridors along U.S. Route 206 are spread across the township’s 55 square miles. The intermediate school sits on its own campus, one of nine schools in the Hillsborough Township Public School District.
The school enrolls just over a thousand students across two grades, making it a sizable intermediate school. The student body is racially and ethnically diverse. White students make up the largest share, followed by a substantial Asian population, a smaller Hispanic cohort, a modest Black student presence, and small numbers of students who identify as two or more races, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, or American Indian or Alaska Native. About one in eight students qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that signals a predominantly middle- and upper-middle-income student population.
On the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments, Auten Road’s results place it above the midpoint among districts in Somerset County. In both fifth and sixth grade, roughly two-thirds of students scored proficient or above in English language arts. Math proficiency was similar, with about two-thirds of students meeting the bar in each grade. Science, tested only in fifth grade, saw about half of students reach proficiency. These are solid results for a school serving pre-adolescent students in a generally high-performing county, though a parent may want to look into the dip in science performance relative to the other subjects.
Because Auten Road only serves grades five and six, there is no graduation rate to report. The school is a regular public school and is not a charter or magnet. Data on special education and English learner populations was not available in the profile, so it is not possible to assess how the school supports those groups from this information alone. No information on discipline, chronic absenteeism, staffing ratios, or course access was present in the data reviewed.
For families considering the area, the district context is important. Hillsborough’s population has grown significantly over the past decade, and the school board has approved consecutive annual budgets with the maximum permitted tax levy increase. For a home assessed at the district average, each year’s increase adds a modest sum to school taxes, compounding over time. Housing values in the local zip code are elevated, well above the national typical home value and above the state benchmark, reflecting the area’s desirability and proximity to New York City.
Auten Road Intermediate School offers a straightforward academic fit for a family looking for a stable, middle-to-upper-middle-income suburban environment with proficiency rates that run above county medians. The lack of available data on student support services and subgroups means a parent with a child who has an IEP or is an English learner may want to contact the school directly before drawing conclusions. The school’s size and grade configuration mean it is a transitional step between elementary and middle school, and the district’s nine campuses are spread across a wide township, so busing is likely the norm rather than walking.
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