Wilson Avenue School, Newark NJ - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Wilson Avenue School

Wilson Avenue School is a regular public school in Newark’s South Ward, serving kindergarten through eighth grade as part of the Newark Public School District. The school sits on Wilson Avenue, a residential street in a dense, urban part of the city. Newark is New Jersey’s most populous city and the county seat of Essex County, a major employment and transit hub anchored by corporate headquarters, the Port Newark–Elizabeth marine terminal, and Newark Liberty International Airport. The city is divided into five wards, each with its own character, and the school draws its student body from the surrounding South Ward neighborhood.

The school’s enrollment reflects the diversity of its community. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial share of white students and a very small number of Black, Asian, Native American, and multiracial students. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a signal of the economic context families are navigating. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the records reviewed, so a parent may want to follow up directly with the school to understand how those populations are served.

Wilson Avenue is a neighborhood school, meaning most families living nearby are zoned to attend. It does not have charter or magnet status, and there was no information about Title I designation, though the income profile of the school population makes it likely the school receives federal Title I funds. The district recently earned a High Performing District designation from the New Jersey Department of Education in July 2026, a mark of improvement after years of state oversight that ended several years prior. The district has also launched "The Next Decade: 2020-30" strategic plan and added new career-themed high schools, though those are high school options and do not directly affect Wilson Avenue’s K-8 program.

On state assessments, Wilson Avenue’s results show a mixed picture. In English language arts, the school’s eighth graders posted a stronger proficiency rate, with roughly half or more of students meeting the state’s college-and-career-ready bar. Performance in the lower and middle grades varied, with fourth and sixth graders also showing some of the higher rates in ELA, while seventh graders had a lower proficiency rate. In math, proficiency rates across all tested grades landed in a lower range, with no grade exceeding a third of students proficient. Science results were the weakest area: at both the fifth and eighth grade levels, very few students reached proficiency. The school’s overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades falls below the midpoint when compared with other districts in Essex County, a set that includes both urban and suburban communities. These are the school’s numbers; a parent may want to discuss academic support and intervention strategies with the school directly.

Because the school stops at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. Families will need to plan for high school placement after eighth grade, and the district’s expanded school-choice options, including themed career academies, provide multiple paths for those who continue in Newark Public Schools.

Wilson Avenue is a straightforward neighborhood school in a city with dense urban infrastructure, transit access, and a central business district. For a family already living in the South Ward, it is the assigned public school. For anyone considering moving to the attendance zone, the academic performance data suggests the school is still working to lift achievement, particularly in math and science, while showing some relative strength in middle-grade ELA. A family prioritizing a neighborhood school with a short walk to class in a city that offers extensive cultural and economic resources may find it a practical fit. A family seeking a school with high test scores across all subjects would need to weigh this reality carefully and might want to visit, talk with current parents, and ask about the school’s academic improvement plans.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 329%

School 29% · District 28% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 432%

School 32% · District 23% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 22%

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

Grade 630%

School 30% · District 18% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

Grade 725%

School 25% · District 21% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 830%

School 30% · District 12% · ▲ 18 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 338%

School 38% · District 28% · ▲ 11 pts above district

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

Grade 444%

School 44% · District 30% · ▲ 13 pts above district

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

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 31% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 645%

School 45% · District 36% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 730%

School 30% · District 38% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 858%

School 58% · District 39% · ▲ 19 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Science

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 10% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 87%

School 7% · District 6% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

This schoolNewark 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-income37%Higher-income47%10 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income45%Higher-income33%12 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income32%Higher-income57%25 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income29%Higher-income35%7 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income58%Higher-income59%1 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income29%Higher-income27%2 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income32%Higher-income33%1 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income21%Higher-income29%8 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income24%Higher-income28%4 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income31%Higher-income25%6 pp gap