The top reported proficiency rate is 72% in Math. The lowest is 48% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Rockaway Meadow Elementary School
Rockaway Meadow Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Parsippany, a large suburban township in Morris County. The school is one of ten elementary campuses in the Parsippany-Troy Hills Township School District, a system that feeds into two middle schools and two high schools. Parsippany itself is not a single downtown town. It is a sprawling, car-dependent township with distinct neighborhoods such as Lake Hiawatha, Mount Tabor, and Rainbow Lakes, each with its own character. The community blends residential subdivisions with a heavy corporate presence: several major companies including Allergan, Zoetis, Wyndham Worldwide, and Toyota Financial Services are headquartered here, and the highway corridors are lined with office parks. For a family looking at Rockaway Meadow, the school sits within one of these residential pockets rather than near a commercial center.
The student body is racially and economically diverse. More than a third of students are Asian, roughly a third are white, and a substantial share are Hispanic. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that places the school in a middle position relative to community affluence. The exact share of students with disabilities or who are English learners was not reported in the available data, which is a gap a parent may want to explore directly with the school.
On state assessments, Rockaway Meadow shows a pattern of solid performance with some variation by grade and subject. In mathematics, proficiency was strong across third and fourth grades and moderately strong in fifth grade. In English language arts, fourth graders posted notably high results, while third and fifth graders showed more moderate performance. Science results for fifth graders were lower than the math and ELA numbers, falling below the majority proficient mark. Overall, the school’s combined proficiency index across all tested grades and subjects sits above the midpoint when compared to other district-level entities in Morris County. This means that, on the whole, students here are meeting state standards at a rate that is typical to slightly above average for the county, though not at the very top tier.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. There are also no data on chronic absenteeism or discipline, and no staffing ratios or course access information was available in this profile. Those are additional areas a prospective parent may want to ask about during a visit.
The district itself has been the subject of ongoing community discussion around facility upgrades and the expansion of full-day kindergarten. Several elementary schools in Parsippany still offer only half-day kindergarten, and there has been active advocacy from parents and residents for a shift to full-day programming and broader infrastructure improvements. This is a live issue that could affect a family’s experience, particularly if they have a child entering kindergarten soon.
Housing in Parsippany reflects the area’s desirability. Home values in the ZIP code covering the school are well above the national median, and rents are high relative to incomes. The housing market in Morris County is competitive, with homes typically selling quickly after listing. For a family considering a move to attend Rockaway Meadow, the cost of entry is substantial, and inventory has been relatively tight. The township has been recognized multiple times by Money magazine as one of the best places to live in the country, most recently in 2022, which has reinforced demand.
Rockaway Meadow offers a straightforward elementary school experience in a well-regarded, diverse suburb with a strong corporate tax base. Its academic results are generally solid with a notable peak in fourth-grade literacy and a weaker spot in fifth-grade science. The school’s setting is suburban and car-oriented, with no walkable downtown. The most significant open question for a parent evaluating this school likely centers on the district’s evolving kindergarten policy and any facility-related changes that may be in the works. Beyond that, the data available paint a picture of a school that serves its community reliably, with performance that tracks above the county midpoint, in a township that has sustained a reputation as a stable and desirable place to live.
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