Madison Avenue, Irvington NJ - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Madison Avenue

Madison Avenue is an elementary school in the Irvington Public School District, serving children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. The school is a regular public school situated in a densely populated, predominantly residential township in Essex County. The school’s enrollment is substantial for its grade band, and the student body is predominantly Black and Latino, reflecting the community it serves. A large share of students come from households with low incomes, as measured by eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch.

The academic performance data from the most recent state assessments points to a school where the vast majority of students are not yet meeting grade-level benchmarks in math, English language arts, or science. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above was a small fraction in third grade, a modestly larger fraction in fourth grade, and a similarly small fraction in fifth grade. In English language arts, the pattern was similar, with the highest measured proficiency occurring in fourth grade, though it still represented a minority of students. In fifth-grade science, the share of students reaching the state’s proficient-or-above threshold was very low. The school’s overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Essex County.

Because Madison Avenue serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report. Data on chronic absenteeism was also not available in the provided materials.

The district context includes some notable recent developments. The Irvington Public School District has passed multiple consecutive budgets with no increase to the local tax levy, which means the property tax portion of school funding has been stable even as spending has risen. The district also expanded early childhood education by adding new pre-kindergarten classrooms, growing total pre-K capacity. In a move that a parent may want to look into further with the school, the district requested a state audit of its special education services, citing concerns around out-of-district placements and staffing. The district has also funded expanded STEM programs and new technology equipment at multiple schools, though the specific impact on Madison Avenue is not detailed in the available information.

The surrounding housing market in the area shows home values that are well above the national benchmark but below the New Jersey state benchmark. Rents have seen a slight decline year over year. The township itself is built out with very little vacant land, meaning growth comes through redevelopment and infill. It has a designated transit village area around the Irvington Bus Terminal on Springfield Avenue, which is a major NJ Transit hub with connections to Newark and New York, and an Urban Enterprise Zone that offers a reduced sales tax rate at eligible merchants to encourage investment.

For a family considering Madison Avenue, the central question is how the school’s low proficiency rates fit into their priorities. The data does not include specific information on the school’s programming, staffing ratios, or the full range of course access, so a parent would want to visit the school or contact the district directly to learn about the specific instructional supports, intervention programs, and enrichment offerings in place. The school serves a high-need student population, and the district has taken steps to address special education services and expand early childhood access. The stable property tax levy may be a consideration for homeowners. The combination of a dense, walkable township with strong transit connections and a school where academic proficiency is a clear challenge defines the landscape for a prospective family.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 311%

School 11% · District 18% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 39 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 415%

School 15% · District 18% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 17% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 310%

School 10% · District 19% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 36 pts below state median · ▼ 31 pts below county median

Grade 425%

School 25% · District 26% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 24% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 41 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Science

Grade 56%

School 6% · District 7% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

This schoolIrvington 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-income11%Higher-income6%5 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income24%Higher-income27%3 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income16%Higher-income0%16 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income11%Higher-income11%0 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income17%Higher-income7%10 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income14%Higher-income0%14 pp gap