Hurden Looker School, Hillside NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Hurden Looker School

Hurden Looker School, located in Hillside, New Jersey, serves students from second through sixth grade. It is a regular public school within the Hillside Public School District. The school enrolls a moderately sized student body for an elementary and middle-level grade band.

The student population is diverse. The largest groups of students are Black and Hispanic, each making up a substantial share of the enrollment. A smaller proportion of students identify as white, and very small numbers are Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, or of two or more races. A significant majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a community where economic need is a factor for many families. Data on the number of students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and English Learner students was not provided.

Academically, the picture varies by subject and grade level, with some notable bright spots alongside areas of softer performance. On the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments (NJSLA), results in English language arts are a clear strength for the school. In fifth grade, a large majority of students met proficiency standards, and in fourth and sixth grades, a majority did as well. Third-grade ELA proficiency was lower but still saw a sizable share of students meeting the bar. In math, proficiency rates were more mixed. Fifth graders posted the strongest results, with a substantial portion achieving proficiency. Fourth and third grade math scores were lower, and by sixth grade, less than a third of students reached the proficiency threshold. Science results, tested only in fifth grade, were the weakest area, with a small share of students meeting the standard. Compared to other school districts in Union County, Hurden Looker’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades lands above the midpoint of the county distribution, placing it in a middle tier relative to its neighbors.

Since the school does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report.

The community context of Hillside matters for understanding the school. Hillside is a dense, inner-ring suburban township of Union County. It is traversed by Route 22, a major commercial arterial, and its built environment mixes residential neighborhoods with commercial strips and light industrial uses. The township lacks a traditional downtown; the civic center is clustered around the municipal complex at Liberty and Hillside Avenues. Schools are spread throughout the township rather than concentrated in one area. Public transit is available via several NJ Transit bus lines, and while there is no train station in Hillside itself, rail stations are close by in neighboring Union and Elizabeth. Historically a manufacturing hub, Hillside’s economy now includes logistics, retail, and public sector employment, with the township’s Urban Enterprise Zone supporting local businesses. The population has seen modest growth over recent decades, but with very limited land area, future development is likely to take the form of infill and redevelopment.

For a parent considering Hurden Looker, the school offers a stable, diverse setting in a community with transit access and a mix of housing types, where home values and rents are in line with the regional market. Academically, the school’s English language arts results are a distinct strength, particularly in the upper elementary grades, and the overall proficiency profile places it among the better-performing schools within its county context. The math and science scores are more uneven, with sixth-grade math and fifth-grade science showing lower attainment; a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what support is in place for those subjects. The district, based on available information, has not undergone any major recent policy changes, referendums, or curriculum shifts that would alter the day-to-day experience for families.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 334%

School 34% · District 36% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 436%

School 36% · District 27% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 37% · ▲ 6 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 627%

School 27% · District 21% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 342%

School 42% · District 38% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 460%

School 60% · District 46% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 572%

School 72% · District 61% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 661%

School 61% · District 56% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Science

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 20% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

This schoolHillside 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 3Lower-income42%Higher-income43%2 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income60%Higher-income59%1 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income75%Higher-income63%12 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income62%Higher-income58%4 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income32%Higher-income39%7 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income35%Higher-income41%6 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income46%Higher-income31%15 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income29%Higher-income20%9 pp gap