The top reported proficiency rate is 71% in Math. The lowest is 57% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Amsterdam Elementary School
Amsterdam Elementary School is a regular public school in the Hillsborough Township Public School District, serving kindergarten through fourth grade. The school is one of six elementary campuses in the district, and it feeds into the intermediate, middle, and high school levels that follow.
On the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments, Amsterdam’s students performed solidly, with math results stronger than English language arts. In third grade, more than half of students met the proficiency threshold in math, and by fourth grade the share was higher, placing the school well above the midpoint among Somerset County districts when tested subjects and grades are combined. ELA proficiency was lower in third grade, where about half of students scored at the proficient level. Fourth graders performed markedly better, bringing the school’s overall ELA showing into a more comfortable range. Parents looking for a steady upward trend in early literacy may want to ask the school about how it addresses reading growth between grades three and four.
The school is not tested in science, which New Jersey typically assesses later in elementary grades, so no results are available there.
Amsterdam’s enrollment is moderate for a K-4 building. The student body is ethnically diverse, with a large share of Asian students and a similarly large share of white students, accompanied by smaller groups of Hispanic, multiracial, Black, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. A very small share of students qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a figure that is low relative to state averages and suggests the surrounding neighborhood is predominantly higher-income. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported in the available records; a family with a child who might receive special education or language support should confirm the school’s offerings directly.
The school sits in Hillsborough Township, a suburban and exurban bedroom community located roughly fifty miles from Manhattan. Hillsborough has no traditional walkable downtown; its commercial life is strung along the U.S. Route 206 corridor, and its nine public schools are spread across separate campuses on the township’s fifty-five square miles. Duke Farms, a large preserved estate and environmental center, is a major civic anchor, and about one-third of the township is designated open space. Housing is expensive. The typical home value in the area is well above the national figure, and the district has approved consecutive annual budgets with the maximum allowable tax levy increase, adding a modest but cumulative amount for the owner of a median-valued home.
Amsterdam Elementary offers no information on staffing ratios, discipline rates, attendance patterns, or program offerings such as gifted or extracurricular enrichment. Because the school ends at fourth grade, there is no graduation rate. Parents shopping for a K-4 school in Hillsborough will find a campus with above-average test outcomes compared with other schools in Somerset County, a low-poverty demographic profile, and a setting that is car-dependent and suburban in character. The rising tax burden is a practical concern for families weighing the cost of living in this district.
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