Number 4, Linden NJ - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Number 4

Number 4 is one of Linden’s dozen regular public elementary schools, serving children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is a neighborhood school in the city’s residential fabric, part of the eleven-school Linden Public School District that also includes separate middle and high school campuses.

The student body is relatively large for an elementary school, drawing from the surrounding blocks. The enrollment is diverse, with a student population that is a mix of Hispanic and Black children, alongside smaller shares of white students, multiracial children, and a few Asian and Native American students. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure of household income that places the school in a higher-poverty context than many in the county.

State test results from the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments are available for grades three through five in math, English language arts, and for fifth grade in science. On the whole, proficiency rates sit below the midpoint among elementary schools in Union County’s districts. In math, the share of students meeting state standards rises from a modest level in third grade to a somewhat higher one by fifth grade. In ELA, third-grade proficiency is particularly low, while fourth and fifth grades show a larger share of students performing at the proficient level. Fifth-grade science results show about three in ten students reaching the state’s standard. A family looking at these scores will want to ask the school about the specific instructional supports and interventions available, especially for younger readers.

The school itself does not offer programs that would be listed separately in the data, and it is not a magnet or charter school. It operates as a traditional public elementary school, part of the city’s broader system. The district has recently expanded its full-day pre-kindergarten program, which is funded through New Jersey’s state preschool expansion. That expansion is a lasting change that directly affects families with young children considering Number 4.

Linden is a city with a distinct industrial and residential character. The east side along the Arthur Kill hosts the Bayway Refinery, one of the largest on the East Coast, and the city has historically been a center for heavy industry and manufacturing. That industrial presence has environmental implications; the city was listed as the most polluted community in New Jersey by volume of toxic releases in the recent past. The residential neighborhoods are dense and suburban in feel, with a strong Polish-American cultural presence evident in shops, churches, and an annual heritage festival.

Housing in Linden is moderately priced compared to the state as a whole. Typical home values sit slightly below New Jersey’s average but above the national median, and rents follow a similar pattern. The city’s train station offers a direct ride to Manhattan, and major highways including the New Jersey Turnpike run through it, making it a commuter-accessible location for families who work in New York or elsewhere in the region.

For a parent evaluating whether Number 4 is a fit, the school’s academic performance is an area to investigate further, particularly in the early elementary grades. The student body is economically diverse in a way that reflects the city’s broad mix of working-class and middle-class households. The school provides a full-day pre-K option and the standard elementary curriculum within a district that runs multiple elementary schools, each serving its own attendance zone. The industrial context of the city and the environmental concerns associated with it are factors some families will weigh alongside the academic picture.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 320%

School 20% · District 32% · ▼ 11 pts below district

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

Grade 425%

School 25% · District 22% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 537%

School 37% · District 30% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 313%

School 13% · District 25% · ▼ 11 pts below district

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

Grade 437%

School 37% · District 35% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 541%

School 41% · District 38% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Science

Grade 530%

School 30% · District 20% · ▲ 10 pts above district

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

This schoolLinden 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-income13%Higher-income15%3 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income38%Higher-income31%7 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income33%Higher-income58%25 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income14%Higher-income35%21 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income23%Higher-income31%8 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income35%Higher-income42%7 pp gap