The top reported proficiency rate is 73% in Math. The lowest is 70% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Memorial Elementary School
Memorial Elementary School serves students from prekindergarten through fourth grade in Paramus, a Bergen County borough that blends residential suburban life with an unusually intense commercial core. Paramus is often described as a bedroom community of New York City, roughly fifteen to twenty miles northwest of Midtown Manhattan, but it is also one of the nation's largest retail destinations, with five major indoor shopping centers and billions of dollars in annual sales. The town has some of the strictest Sunday blue laws in the country, meaning most stores are closed, which gives the place a quieter weekend rhythm than its highway corridors would suggest. Housing values in the immediate area are high, reflecting the desirability of the broader Bergen County market, and the local housing market has been active but stable.
The school itself is a regular public elementary school, one of several campuses in the Paramus Public School District. Enrollment is moderate for an elementary school serving just these early grades. The student body is racially and ethnically diverse. White students make up the largest group, followed by a substantial share of Asian students, and smaller but meaningful populations of Hispanic, Black, and multiracial students. The share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch is relatively low, suggesting a predominantly middle- to upper-middle-income student population. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not reported in the available data, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the availability and size of special education and language support services.
State assessment results are available for the third and fourth grades, the only tested grades within the school's range. Performance is strong overall. In mathematics, the share of students scoring proficient or above rises from third to fourth grade, with fourth graders reaching a high proficiency rate. In English language arts, a similar pattern holds: fourth graders post a higher proficiency rate than third graders, and both are solidly above the mid-range. When compared across districts in Bergen County, the school's composite proficiency index across tested subjects and grades lands in the top quartile. This is a clear strength of the school. Parents looking for a school with a track record of strong academic outcomes in the primary years will find that here.
Because Memorial ends at fourth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report, and the school does not offer advanced placement or career pathway programs, which are not applicable to this grade band. The district, publicly reported, has expanded its preschool offerings across multiple campuses, so prekindergarten families have options. The district's approved budget for the most recent year included a local tax levy increase, continuing a pattern of modest annual property tax increases tied to operating costs.
The school building is located on Midland Avenue in Paramus. The borough does not have a traditional walkable downtown; most civic and commercial life is organized around the highway corridors and shopping malls, and schools sit on their own campuses. Families will need a car for most daily trips, including getting to and from school. Paramus's population has been relatively stable over recent censuses, with a slight decline in the most recent estimate, and the median age suggests an aging population. No major new housing developments were identified in publicly available information, so the neighborhood around the school is likely to feel established and settled.
For a family considering Memorial, the picture is straightforward. The school delivers consistently strong academic results in the early elementary grades within a diverse, economically comfortable student body, and it sits in a community with high housing costs and a car-dependent, suburban-commercial landscape. What is not visible in the data is the depth of special education and English learner support, so a parent with a child who may need those services should follow up with the school directly.
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