East Brook Middle School, Paramus NJ

Original Research by School Decision on East Brook Middle School

East Brook Middle School serves grades five through eight in Paramus, a Bergen County borough that is both a suburban bedroom community for New York City and one of the largest retail destinations in the country. The school sits within the Paramus Public School District, which has expanded preschool offerings across its campuses in recent years and saw voters approve a budget that carried a modest local tax levy increase. The district pattern suggests incremental property tax growth tied to operating costs, a factor families may want to weigh against the area's broader affordability picture.

The school's enrollment is spread relatively evenly across grades five through eight. The student body is diverse: white students make up the largest share, followed by Asian students, Hispanic students, students who identify as two or more races, Black students, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a figure that parents may want to understand in context of the school's overall resource allocation.

On state assessments administered through the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment, East Brook Middle School shows a pattern worth reading closely. English language arts proficiency rates are strong across all four grades, with particularly high performance in grade seven and solid results in grades five, six, and eight. Mathematics proficiency rates are more varied. Fifth and sixth grade math results are above the midpoint among districts in Bergen County, and seventh grade math is notably stronger. Eighth grade math dips to a lower proficiency rate, and a parent may want to ask the school how it supports students transitioning to higher-level math in that grade. In science, which uses a different proficiency standard, results for grade five and grade eight are lower than the math and reading figures; a parent may want to ask about science curriculum and support.

The school's overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested subjects and grades, places it above the midpoint when compared to other districts in Bergen County. This is a solid position in a county with many high-performing districts. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report, nor data on chronic absenteeism or discipline. Staffing ratios and course access details were not available in the data provided.

Paramus itself is car-dependent and organized around heavily trafficked highway corridors and shopping centers rather than a walkable downtown. The borough enforces some of the country's most restrictive Sunday blue laws, meaning most retail is closed that day. Housing values in the zip code are well above national and state benchmarks, and the county housing market shows active listings rising year over year with a median days-on-market of roughly a month, indicating a market that is active but not hyper-competitive. The cost of housing in Paramus is a substantial consideration for families moving into the district.

For a family choosing a middle school in Bergen County, East Brook offers consistent English language arts results, a diverse student body, and math performance that is generally solid but with a notable drop at the eighth grade level. The school sits in a district with stable governance and modest annual tax increases. The setting is suburban and commercial, not walkable, and the housing market commands a premium. A parent whose child is strong in reading and writing will find a school where that strength is well supported. A parent concerned about eighth grade math or science outcomes will want to ask about curriculum pathways and intervention strategies available in those subjects.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 567%

School 67% · District 59% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 663%

School 63% · District 64% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 775%

School 75% · District 66% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 855%

School 55% · District 47% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 574%

School 74% · District 67% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 677%

School 77% · District 77%

▲ 23 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 787%

School 87% · District 81% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 879%

School 79% · District 71% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Science

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 43% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 37% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

This schoolParamus 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 5Lower-income69%Higher-income75%6 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income78%Higher-income77%1 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income72%Higher-income90%18 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income55%Higher-income84%30 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income57%Higher-income68%11 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income52%Higher-income65%13 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income60%Higher-income78%18 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income33%Higher-income60%27 pp gap