Howell Township Middle School South, Howell NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Howell Township Middle School South

Howell Township Middle School South serves grades six through eight as one of the district’s two middle schools. It is a regular public school in a township that has grown steadily as a bedroom community in Monmouth County. The school itself sits in the Ramtown section of Howell, a sprawling, car-oriented township with no traditional downtown. Families here tend to live in residential subdivisions and commute to jobs outside the township; the area’s parks, the Manasquan Reservoir, and Allaire State Park provide recreation. No recent district-level changes—curriculum shifts, budget referendums, or construction projects—were publicly reported in available sources, so a parent may want to check with the district directly for upcoming plans.

The school enrolls a mid-sized student body for a middle school. Its composition is predominantly white, with a substantial share of Hispanic students and smaller numbers of Asian, Black, multiracial, and Native American students. About one in five students qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a figure that suggests a moderately mixed-income student body. Information on students with disabilities and English learners was not available from the data provided.

On state assessments administered through the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment, Howell Township Middle School South’s academic profile varies by subject and grade. In English language arts, a solid majority of students meet the state’s proficiency standard in each grade, with sixth and seventh graders performing at a notably higher level than eighth graders. Math proficiency follows a declining trajectory across the grades: it is strongest in sixth grade and drops substantially by eighth grade. Science, tested only in eighth grade, shows a small proportion of students reaching proficiency. Because the school is a middle school, there is no graduation rate to report.

When placed alongside the other districts in Monmouth County, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades falls below the midpoint of the county’s districts. That comparative position is worth noting, particularly since the pattern of stronger ELA and weaker math and science may raise questions about curriculum alignment or student readiness as they progress through the grades. A parent interested in advanced math or science pathways, or in how the school addresses the decline in middle-school math performance, may want to explore this further with the school or district.

The school’s environment and access details—discipline, attendance, staffing ratios, and course offerings—were not included in the data. Without that information, it is difficult to assess the school’s climate or the breadth of its academic programming. Similarly, there was no information on whether the school offers any specialized programs such as gifted education, enrichment, or intervention supports.

Housing values in the Howell area are high, reflecting the township’s draw as a commuter suburb. The median home value is above the national benchmark, and the housing market shows steady demand with a moderate supply of listings. For families choosing a home in Howell, the middle school is one of two serving the district; the general academic picture suggests a school that performs solidly in literacy but has room for improvement in mathematics and science, especially in the upper middle-school years.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 653%

School 53% · District 52% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 740%

School 40% · District 44% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 825%

School 25% · District 31% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 664%

School 64% · District 65% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 763%

School 63% · District 62% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 855%

School 55% · District 61% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 817%

School 17% · District 17%

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

This schoolHowell Township 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 6Lower-income43%Higher-income71%28 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income52%Higher-income66%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income33%Higher-income63%30 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income38%Higher-income59%21 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income28%Higher-income45%17 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income11%Higher-income31%19 pp gap