Horace Mann Elementary School, North Bergen NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Horace Mann Elementary School

Horace Mann Elementary School serves students from first through eighth grade in North Bergen, a densely populated Hudson County township known for its steep hills and the busy Bergenline Avenue commercial corridor. The school is part of the North Bergen School District, which operates multiple school buildings spread across the township’s neighborhoods rather than on a single campus. The community is predominantly Hispanic, and the school reflects that demographic reality.

Academically, the state assessment results present a mixed picture. In English language arts, the school shows a clear upward trajectory as students advance through the grades. The share of students meeting or exceeding expectations in ELA begins at a lower level in third grade, rises through fourth, fifth, and sixth grades, climbs further in seventh, and reaches a substantially higher point in eighth grade. That pattern suggests that the school may be adding value over time, particularly in reading and writing, and that by the time students are ready to move on to high school, a sizable majority of eighth graders are demonstrating grade-level literacy skills.

Math performance tells a different story. Proficiency rates in math across grades three through seven are consistently modest, and the eighth-grade math result is markedly lower, with only a small share of students meeting the state’s proficiency standard. Parental inquiry into how the school supports math instruction, particularly in the upper middle-school years, would be reasonable. Science results, tested in fifth and eighth grades, also show very low proficiency rates, another area where a family may want to discuss supports with the school directly.

The overall proficiency index for the school, which averages all tested subjects and grades, places Horace Mann in the bottom quartile relative to other school districts in Hudson County. That is a factual position, not a verdict. It means that while the school has real strengths in later-grade ELA, its combined academic picture is below the midpoint of the county’s districts.

The school serves a large student body for its grade band, and the vast majority of students come from low-income households, as measured by eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch. The student population is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with a small White enrollment and even smaller representation from other racial groups. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so a parent should ask the school directly about the availability and structure of special education services and English language support.

The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and it is not designated as a Title I school in the available data, which is unusual for a school with this level of economic need and may reflect a data gap rather than a programmatic absence. Housing in the surrounding zip code is expensive relative to national averages, with home values that have appreciated modestly and rental costs that consume a substantial share of typical household income. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate at the time of this profile was around six and a half percent, and the national unemployment rate was just over four percent.

No recent district-level changes that would affect parents were found in publicly reported materials, so the narrative here rests on what the testing and enrollment data show. Horace Mann is a school where a family can expect strong literacy growth over a student’s eight years, but where math and science achievement are areas that warrant close attention and proactive engagement with the school. The setting is a dense, walkable, transit-connected urban township with a lively commercial spine and significant topographic variety. For a family weighing this school, the central question is whether the ELA trajectory and the school’s response to its math and science challenges align with their child’s needs.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 329%

School 29% · District 34% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 32% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 28%

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

Grade 627%

School 27% · District 23% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 726%

School 26% · District 27% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 89%

School 9% · District 15% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 321%

School 21% · District 28% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 40% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 39% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 41% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 743%

School 43% · District 45% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 857%

School 57% · District 49% · ▲ 8 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Science

Grade 510%

School 10% · District 17% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 84%

School 4% · District 8% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

This schoolNorth Bergen 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-income21%Higher-income19%2 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income37%Higher-income56%19 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income45%Higher-income54%9 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income45%Higher-income51%7 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income38%Higher-income55%18 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income55%Higher-income64%9 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income29%Higher-income28%1 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income27%Higher-income56%29 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income27%Higher-income31%4 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income28%Higher-income24%3 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income24%Higher-income30%6 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income7%Higher-income13%5 pp gap