Jefferson School, Lyndhurst NJ - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Jefferson School

Jefferson School serves students in third through fifth grade in Lyndhurst, a primarily residential township in Bergen County. The school is one of two upper-elementary buildings in the Lyndhurst Public School District, taking students from the district’s five K-2 schools and feeding into Lyndhurst Middle School. The enrollment is small for a public school, reflecting the grade band and the district’s structure. The student body is roughly evenly split between students who identify as Hispanic or Latino and those who identify as white, with smaller shares of students who are Asian, two or more races, or Black. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Lyndhurst itself is a suburban bedroom community with a mix of single-family homes and commercial corridors. It does not have a traditional downtown; schools and civic life are spread along major roads. The township offers NJ Transit rail service via the Lyndhurst station on the Main Line, and it has Riverside County Park and other recreational spaces. The municipality has seen modest population growth in recent decades, and the district has filed a long-range facilities plan amendment, indicating a significant ongoing investment in school buildings.

On state assessments, Jefferson School’s performance is mixed. In English language arts, the school shows a noticeable pattern: third-grade proficiency was lower than what the district’s fourth and fifth graders achieved. Fourth and fifth graders each reached proficiency at a rate that was meaningfully higher than the third-grade cohort. In math, proficiency rates were fairly consistent across grades, hovering at a level that was below what those same grade levels showed in English language arts. Fifth graders also take a science assessment, and the proficiency rate there was lower still. Across all tested subjects and grades combined, the school’s overall proficiency index placed it in the bottom quarter when compared with other districts in Bergen County. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand how the school supports students who are not yet meeting proficiency benchmarks, particularly in math and science.

Because Jefferson School only serves grades three through five, there is no graduation rate to report. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. Data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, and staffing were not available. The school’s civil rights data was also not provided. The district’s special education and English learner populations were not reported at the school level, so how the school supports those students is not clear from the available information.

The housing market in the area is expensive. Home values are well above national benchmarks, and rents are high relative to typical incomes. For families considering moving to Lyndhurst, the cost of housing is a major factor. The county’s housing market has seen a rise in active listings recently, but prices remain elevated.

Jefferson School’s academic profile fits a family that is comfortable engaging directly with the school to understand how it addresses areas where proficiency is lower. The school is in a district that is investing in its facilities, and Lyndhurst offers a suburban, car-oriented environment with rail access to the region. For a family weighing options, the key consideration is the academic performance pattern and whether the school’s approach aligns with a child’s needs, particularly in math and the upper elementary science curriculum.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 337%

School 37% · District 45% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 46% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 538%

School 38% · District 41% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 341%

School 41% · District 43% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 464%

School 64% · District 65% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 562%

School 62% · District 60% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 531%

School 31% · District 28% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

This schoolLyndhurst 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-income42%Higher-income40%2 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income52%Higher-income78%25 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income57%Higher-income67%11 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income25%Higher-income81%56 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income59%Higher-income83%24 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income67%Higher-income84%17 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income37%Higher-income37%0 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income26%Higher-income64%38 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income28%Higher-income49%21 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income13%Higher-income38%25 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income45%Higher-income55%11 pp gap