Alan B. Shepard Elementary School, Old Bridge NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Alan B. Shepard Elementary School

Alan B. Shepard Elementary School is one of the older elementary schools in the Old Bridge Township School District, serving students from kindergarten through fifth grade. The school is situated in a residential area of this large, auto-dependent suburban township about 25 miles from Manhattan. While the school itself does not have a downtown walkable core to speak of, families here rely on cars for most trips, with commercial corridors along Route 18 and Route 35 providing shopping and services.

A significant recent change for the district affects every elementary family: the Board of Education approved a transition from half-day to full-day kindergarten, beginning September 2025, across all 12 elementary schools. This expansion of early childhood education is a substantial offering for families considering the school, though it was not in place during the most recent testing year. Alongside this, the district implemented a new elementary English Language Arts curriculum aligned with the science of reading in the 2024-25 school year, replacing the prior program. Voters also approved a major bond referendum in December 2023 to fund improvements including security upgrades, HVAC replacements, roof repairs, and classroom renovations across all district schools, with projects expected to continue through 2028.

The school’s academic performance on the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments places it in a strong position. Overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits near the top tier when compared with other schools in Middlesex County. In English language arts, fourth graders posted a notably high proficiency rate, while third and fifth graders also showed solid results. Math performance improved steadily across the grades, with the strongest showing among fifth graders. Science, tested only in fifth grade and using a different proficiency standard, came in lower than the reading and math results, a pattern that parents may want to explore further with the school.

The school serves a student body of modest size for a K-5 building, with a reasonably balanced distribution across the grades. The population is majority white, with substantial shares of Hispanic, Asian, and Black students, and a smaller group identifying as two or more races. Approximately a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a mix of economic backgrounds. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the source materials, so those figures could not be assessed.

Alan B. Shepard is a regular public school that is not a charter or magnet school. Its Title I status was not reported, leaving it unclear whether the school receives additional federal funding for high-poverty populations. The school’s discipline, staffing, and attendance data were also absent from the available information, so those aspects of the school environment could not be characterized. Given the school’s grade band of K-5, there is no high school graduation rate to report, which is a standard gap for an elementary school and not a reflection on the institution itself.

The surrounding housing market in the Old Bridge area is competitive, with home values above the national median and a tight supply of listings. Rents are also elevated, consistent with this part of central New Jersey. For families considering a move, the district’s approved operating budget for 2025-26 included a modest increase in the school tax levy, partly to fund the new full-day kindergarten program. The broader economic context, including a steady unemployment rate and rising rents of shelter, suggests this remains a high-demand suburban market.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 352%

School 52% · District 60% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 463%

School 63% · District 59% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 570%

School 70% · District 52% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 358%

School 58% · District 52% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Grade 477%

School 77% · District 68% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 569%

School 69% · District 65% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 29% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

This schoolOld Bridge 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-income31%Higher-income69%38 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income50%Higher-income87%37 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income73%Higher-income68%5 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income38%Higher-income58%21 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income43%Higher-income70%27 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income82%Higher-income66%16 pp gap