Lanoka Harbor Elementary School, Lanoka Harbor NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Lanoka Harbor Elementary School

Lanoka Harbor Elementary School is a regular public school serving grades one through five within the Lacey Township School District, located in an unincorporated coastal community on Barnegat Bay in Ocean County. The school sits in a part of New Jersey that was historically shaped by the oyster industry and forest trade, later drawing resort visitors by rail. Today the area reads as a low-density residential bay community without a traditional downtown; homes and services are spread across the broader township. Emergency services include a local fire company and EMS squad, and the historic Murray Grove retreat center, known as the birthplace of Universalism in America, sits within the community.

The district underwent a grade reconfiguration starting with the 2022-23 school year that changed which school a child attends and at what age. Mill Pond Elementary now serves preschool and kindergarten only, while Lanoka Harbor, along with Cedar Creek and Forked River elementaries, serves grades one through five. Middle school picks up at grade six elsewhere in the district. This structural change is something families moving into the area will want to factor in when planning a child’s full elementary run.

On state assessments, Lanoka Harbor’s results present a mixed picture that rewards a closer look. When compared against all tested districts in Ocean County, the school’s overall proficiency across subjects and grades lands in the top quarter. That is a genuine strength. In English language arts, proficiency rates rise steadily from grade to grade, with the fifth-grade cohort reaching a level that stands out as the school’s best showing in that subject. Math results are less consistent, with one grade level falling notably below the others; a parent may want to ask the school how math instruction and supports differ across grades. Science, tested only in fifth grade, shows proficiency at a level well below the school’s performance in math and ELA, and this is a soft spot worth enquiring about directly. The science assessment uses a different proficiency threshold than the other subjects, but the gap is wide enough that a family should understand what science curriculum and hands-on learning opportunities look like.

The student body is predominantly white, with a Hispanic component that makes up a modest share of enrollment. More than a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, giving the school a moderate level of economic diversity. Enrollment is spread fairly evenly across grades one through five, with around a hundred students at most grade levels. The school does not report counts for students with disabilities or English learners in the available data, so that aspect of the support environment is not clear from this information.

The housing market in this part of Ocean County has been active, with home values in the area running above the national median. Mortgage rates have been elevated, pushing estimated monthly costs higher, which shapes who can afford to buy in. The local market has seen a recent uptick in new listings even as pending sales have held roughly steady, suggesting a market that remains competitive but may offer more choice than in some tighter periods.

For a family looking at this school, the key takeaway is a solid academic performer in its county, with particular strength in fifth-grade reading and a top-quartile overall proficiency position, but with noticeable variation within subjects and a soft spot in science that deserves attention. The recent district reconfiguration means the school’s grade band is now more focused, and a child will move to a different campus for middle school. The setting is coastal and residential, with no walkable downtown and a spread-out township layout that makes a car essential.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 353%

School 53% · District 43% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 440%

School 40% · District 40%

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 44% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 343%

School 43% · District 41% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 451%

School 51% · District 49% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 558%

School 58% · District 54% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 525%

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

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

This schoolLacey Township 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-income40%Higher-income45%5 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income31%Higher-income64%34 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income47%Higher-income64%17 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income43%Higher-income59%16 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income22%Higher-income53%31 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income37%Higher-income49%12 pp gap