Mannington Township Elementary School, Salem NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Mannington Township Elementary School

Mannington Township Elementary School is a regular public school serving preschool through eighth grade, located just outside the Salem city center along Route 45. It is the sole school in the Mannington Township School District, a small rural district in Salem County, the most rural county in New Jersey. The school draws from Mannington Township itself, a largely agricultural area, and its students typically move on to a regional high school after eighth grade.

The school is small, with an enrollment that reflects a tight-knit setting. Its student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Hispanic and Black students and a very small Asian and multiracial population. Around a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a lower share than what is typical in many nearby districts. Information on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the data.

Academically, Mannington Township Elementary School posts results that stand out in the county context. On the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments, the school's overall proficiency rate across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile among districts in Salem County, a strong showing for a school of its size and rural setting. Looking at individual grades, performance is generally solid. In math, proficiency rates are high across grades three through seven, with one grade notably reaching a level well above the state average. Third grade and fifth grade math were very strong, while sixth and seventh grade math were also solid. Eighth grade math results were suppressed, meaning too few students were tested to report a public rate, a common occurrence in very small schools and not necessarily an indicator of poor performance. In English language arts, the picture is similar. Fourth grade and sixth grade ELA both showed strong proficiency, and fifth grade and eighth grade were also quite solid. Third grade and seventh grade ELA were lower, closer to middling, though still within a reasonable range. Science results are tested in fifth and eighth grade. Eighth grade science was in the moderate-to-solid range, while fifth grade science was weaker, something a parent may want to discuss with the school to understand the curriculum and support approach at that grade level.

Because the school ends at eighth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report. This is not a gap but a function of the school's grade configuration. Students who attend here will later transition to a receiving high school, often Salem High School or another regional option, depending on the family's residence or choice.

The community context is that of a small, historic, and economically modest county seat area. Salem city, the nearest named place, has a population that has fluctuated over recent decades. It is compact and walkable in its historic core, anchored by the Old Salem County Courthouse and the site of the famous Salem Oak. The Port of Salem provides some industrial activity, but the overall employer base is limited, and Salem had among the highest property tax rates in New Jersey in recent years. Housing in the area is well below the statewide benchmark, making homeownership more attainable than in many parts of New Jersey, though the local economy and tax burden are realities families will want to weigh.

No major changes or initiatives at the district level were identified in publicly available sources, so this narrative reflects the school as it currently stands. For families in Mannington Township and the surrounding area, this school offers a small, rural elementary-to-middle school experience with academic results that are among the strongest in Salem County. The lower fifth grade science results and the variability in some ELA grades are worth exploring with the school, but the overall academic picture is one of solid to strong performance across most grades and subjects.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 367%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 481%

School 81% · District 81%

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 44 pts above county median

Grade 558%

School 58% · District 58%

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

Grade 663%

School 63% · District 63%

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 769%

School 69% · District 69%

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 57%

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 475%

School 75% · District 75%

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

Grade 567%

School 67% · District 67%

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

Grade 675%

School 75% · District 75%

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 756%

School 56% · District 56%

▼ 1 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 869%

School 69% · District 69%

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

Science

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 33%

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

Grade 854%

School 54% · District 54%

▲ 41 pts above state median · ▲ 36 pts above county median

This schoolMannington 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.