Thomas Jefferson School No. 1, Passaic NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Thomas Jefferson School No. 1

Thomas Jefferson School No. 1 is a regular public school in Passaic, New Jersey, serving students from kindergarten through eighth grade. It is one of the elementary and middle schools within the Passaic City School District. The school sits in a densely populated urban setting, at a location within walking distance of Main Avenue, the city’s historic commercial corridor.

The student body at Thomas Jefferson is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with small shares of Asian, Black, and white students. A very large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the school serves a high-poverty community. Data on the share of students classified as English learners or receiving special education services was not available; families may want to ask the school about these supports directly.

On New Jersey’s state assessments, student performance varies notably by grade and subject. In English language arts, the school shows a pattern of rising proficiency from the lower to higher grades. While third-grade ELA proficiency is modest and fourth-grade results are low, a much larger share of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders meet the state’s proficiency benchmarks. The eighth-grade ELA result is the strongest tested grade level for the school, with more than half of students reaching the proficient mark.

Math results are markedly lower. Proficiency rates are well below half across all tested grades, with the decline especially steep in sixth and seventh grades, where only a small fraction of students scored at proficient or above. Science results, available for grades five and eight, also show very low proficiency; in eighth-grade science, no tested student met the standard.

The school’s overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Passaic County. This comparison reflects broad challenges in math and science, while the stronger upper-grade ELA results point to a relative bright spot.

Housing in the school’s zip code shows a home value around the middle of the range for Passaic County and rents that have risen noticeably. The local market has seen a substantial increase in the number of active listings over the past year, a sign that inventory is growing. Passaic itself is a compact, walkable city with a mix of residential, commercial, and industrial uses. The city has experienced population growth over recent decades, and an Urban Enterprise Zone exists to encourage local commerce. A growing Orthodox Jewish community has established numerous yeshivas and kosher businesses in the Passaic Park section, adding distinct cultural layers to the city.

Information about specific academic programs, course offerings, or extracurriculars at Thomas Jefferson was not available in the data provided. No district-level strategic priorities or recent referendum information could be found for the Passaic City School District, so that context is absent here.

Because Thomas Jefferson serves only through eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. Civil rights data on discipline, staffing, and attendance also were not available for this school.

For families considering this school, the picture is a typical one for an urban public elementary and middle school in a high-poverty community: the academic results on state tests are generally low, with some encouraging signs in middle school reading. A parent may want to ask the school about additional supports for students, including any intervention or enrichment programs, and about how the school addresses the needs of English learners and students with disabilities, given that the available data does not include those counts. The school’s location in a dense, walkable city with a strong commercial core and established community institutions may appeal to families who value an urban neighborhood setting.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 344%

School 44% · District 19% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 23% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 21% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 69%

School 9% · District 18% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 714%

School 14% · District 15% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 334%

School 34% · District 22% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 410%

School 10% · District 25% · ▼ 15 pts below district

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

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 30% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 641%

School 41% · District 37% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 748%

School 48% · District 39% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 852%

School 52% · District 41% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Science

Grade 512%

School 12% · District 14% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 6% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

This schoolPassaic City 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.