Dr. E. Alma Flagg School, Newark NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Dr. E. Alma Flagg School

Dr. E. Alma Flagg School is a regular neighborhood public school serving prekindergarten through eighth grade in Newark’s North Ward. It is part of the Newark Public School District, a system that the New Jersey Department of Education designated a High Performing District in mid-2026, a change from the state-takeover era that ended several years earlier. The school is located on Third Street in a dense urban setting, roughly a short distance from the downtown core and the city’s major transit corridors.

The student body is large for a PK-8 school and is almost entirely composed of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The racial and ethnic makeup is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial Black minority and very small numbers of white, Asian, and multiracial students. A parent considering this school should expect a peer environment shaped by high levels of economic need. Data on the share of students with individualized education plans or English learner status was not available; a family with a child receiving special education services or language support may want to follow up with the school directly on that question.

State assessment results for the 2024-25 school year show reading and math proficiency rates that are well below state averages and among the lowest in Essex County when compared with other schools in the district-level comparison set. Across tested grades, math proficiency rates are in the single digits or low teens, and reading proficiency rates are also low, though they climb somewhat in the middle grades. Science proficiency rates are very low at both tested grade levels. These are the school’s primary soft spots. The results are consistent across grade levels and subjects, and a parent exploring this school should look into what academic supports and interventions are in place, as the numbers point to a student body that is not yet meeting grade-level benchmarks at the rates most families would hope to see.

Because the school ends at eighth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report. Newark Public Schools has invested in new career-themed high schools in recent years, including schools focused on data science, fashion design, global studies, and architecture, which gives families a range of choice options once a student leaves Dr. E. Alma Flagg School. The district also operates a strategic plan called The Next Decade: 2020-30, which sets direction through the end of the decade.

Housing in the zip code area that includes the school shows a median home value that is above the national benchmark but below the state benchmark, and the market has seen small price movement recently. Rents have risen modestly year over year. The city of Newark itself is New Jersey’s largest employment center, with major corporate headquarters, a large port and airport complex, and several universities all within the city. The school sits in a built-up urban neighborhood where density, transit access, and pedestrian activity vary by block and ward.

Dr. E. Alma Flagg School is a high-need urban school with consistently low test scores across the board. It serves a community with very high poverty concentration. For a family weighing this school, the central question is what specific academic programs and student supports the school offers to move those numbers, and whether the school’s neighborhood environment and peer composition fit what a family wants for the elementary and middle school years. The broader Newark district provides multiple high school options after eighth grade, which is a relevant long-term consideration.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 319%

School 19% · District 28% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 417%

School 17% · District 23% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 22% · ▼ 11 pts below district

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

Grade 610%

School 10% · District 18% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 74%

School 4% · District 21% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

Grade 86%

School 6% · District 12% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 34%

School 4% · District 28% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 42 pts below state median · ▼ 37 pts below county median

Grade 418%

School 18% · District 30% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 38 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Grade 512%

School 12% · District 31% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 42 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

Grade 631%

School 31% · District 36% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 722%

School 22% · District 38% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

Grade 824%

School 24% · District 39% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Science

Grade 52%

School 2% · District 10% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 84%

School 4% · District 6% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below 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.