Alexander Hamilton Academy, Paterson NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Alexander Hamilton Academy

Alexander Hamilton Academy is a regular public school in Paterson, New Jersey, serving kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the Paterson Public School District, the large urban district that covers the entire city. The school sits within a dense, historically industrial city that is a major destination for immigrant communities, and its student body reflects that context.

The student population is overwhelmingly composed of students who identify as Hispanic, with a substantial share identifying as Black, and very small numbers identifying with other racial groups. A very large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker that places the school in a high-poverty context. The school is small enough for students to move through their elementary and middle school years in one building, and it does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report.

On the state assessments, New Jersey’s NJSLA, the school’s results show a pattern where proficiency rates are low across the board. In English language arts, the share of students scoring proficient or above varies by grade, with the highest rates in the seventh grade and the lowest in the third grade, and the overall picture is that most students are not yet meeting the state’s proficiency benchmarks. In mathematics, the pattern is similar: the share of students at proficiency is low in every grade, with a single grade reaching roughly a third of students proficient while the others fall well below that. Science results, which are tested in fifth and eighth grades, show particularly small shares of students reaching proficiency, with the eighth-grade science rate being very low. When compared to other school districts in Passaic County, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quartile. A parent considering this school would want to look into what academic supports and interventions are in place, and how the school is working to address these results.

The school’s environment is shaped by its location in Paterson. The city has a traditional downtown with civic institutions, active immigrant-owned commercial corridors, and a major national historical park centered on the Great Falls. The housing market in the area shows typical values that are somewhat below the statewide benchmark, and rents have been rising. The district itself, according to publicly reported information, adopted a new strategic plan starting in 2025 focused on student achievement and post-graduation readiness, and approved a budget that included a tax levy increase. These are district-level moves that affect the resources and priorities at Alexander Hamilton Academy, but specific program offerings, course access, and staffing details for the school were not included in the available data, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about enrichment, special education services, and English language learner supports.

This is a school where the academic numbers are a clear challenge, set in a large urban district with a new strategic direction. It serves a community with deep needs, and the test results suggest that most students are not yet on grade level by state standards. A family considering this school should weigh the stability of a neighborhood K-8 setting against the academic performance picture and seek a fuller understanding of the school’s specific interventions and climate from the school itself.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 318%

School 18% · District 23% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 422%

School 22% · District 20% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 531%

School 31% · District 15% · ▲ 16 pts above district

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

Grade 611%

School 11% · District 13% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 711%

School 11% · District 14% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 823%

School 23% · District 8% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 324%

School 24% · District 22% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 426%

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

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

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 24% · ▲ 10 pts above district

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

Grade 635%

School 35% · District 28% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Grade 742%

School 42% · District 30% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

Grade 832%

School 32% · District 34% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 512%

School 12% · District 10% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 82%

School 2% · District 4% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

This schoolPaterson 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 3Lower-income27%Higher-income18%10 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income18%Higher-income39%21 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income39%Higher-income26%13 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income26%Higher-income58%32 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income36%Higher-income50%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income26%Higher-income38%12 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income21%Higher-income12%9 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income21%Higher-income22%1 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income35%Higher-income26%8 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income9%Higher-income17%8 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income14%Higher-income7%6 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income17%Higher-income29%11 pp gap