Lafayette Township School, Lafayette NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Lafayette Township School

Lafayette Township School is the single public school in Lafayette Township, a rural community in Sussex County, and serves students from prekindergarten through eighth grade. After eighth grade, students attend High Point Regional High School in neighboring Wantage Township, so the school operates as a self-contained elementary and middle school without its own high school or graduation rate. Because the school stops at eighth grade, state assessment data is available for those tested grades, but there is no senior-level outcome measure like a graduation rate to consider.

The school is small in enrollment, drawing from a township that has seen modest population decline over recent census counts and remains low-density. The surrounding area is primarily residential and agricultural, with a small village center along Route 15 that includes shops and historic buildings. Walkability outside that immediate cluster is limited, and the school itself sits on Beaver Run Road, within the township but car-dependent for most families. Housing values in the broader area are above national averages, placing the township in a higher-cost part of the state. The district brief turned up no recent major policy changes, referendums, or curriculum shifts to report, so the school appears to be in a stable administrative period.

On state testing, Lafayette Township School shows a mixed pattern across grades and subjects. In math, proficiency rates vary widely by grade. Third grade and sixth grade post numbers that are moderate, while fourth grade and eighth grade show much softer results. Seventh grade math lands on the higher end. This grade-to-grade variation is common in small schools where a single cohort of students can swing averages noticeably. In English language arts, the picture is similar: some grades, notably seventh and especially eighth grade, post results that are strong, while third through fifth grades are softer. The eighth grade ELA result is notably high. In science, which is tested in fifth and eighth grades, the numbers are well below the ELA and math rates. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, as the science results represent a clear soft spot, particularly in fifth grade. Across all tested subjects and grades combined, the school's overall proficiency index places below the midpoint relative to other districts in Sussex County.

The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic minority and very small shares of other racial and ethnic groups. The share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch is low, reflecting the area's relatively high income profile. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so those dimensions of support cannot be assessed from this record. The school does not receive Title I funding, consistent with the low poverty rate.

Given the small enrollment, each grade level has a relatively small group of students, which means that year-to-year proficiency rates can shift noticeably depending on the makeup of a particular class. This is not a school where broad averages mask large populations; the numbers you see are the product of small cohorts. That context matters when interpreting the peaks and valleys in test results.

Lafayette Township School offers a straightforward academic pathway through eighth grade, after which families look to the regional high school. There is no program data in this record to suggest specialized academies or extensive elective offerings at the middle school level, so the academic experience is likely a traditional curriculum. The school's rural setting, small size, and single-building structure create a close environment where students move through the grades with many of the same peers. For a family seeking a small-town, community-anchored elementary and middle school experience in a higher-cost rural area, this fits that description. The test results, especially the weaker science and some math and ELA grades, are worth discussing directly with the school to understand what supports are in place.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 354%

School 54% · District 54%

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 413%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 45%

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

Grade 652%

School 52% · District 52%

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 760%

School 60% · District 60%

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 40%

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 339%

School 39% · District 39%

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

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 26%

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

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 28%

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

Grade 648%

School 48% · District 48%

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 757%

School 57% · District 57%

even with state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 885%

School 85% · District 85%

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Science

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 11%

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 835%

School 35% · District 35%

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

This schoolLafayette 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.