Norman S. Weir, Paterson NJ - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Norman S. Weir

Norman S. Weir is a regular public school in Paterson, New Jersey, serving kindergarten through eighth grade within the Paterson Public School District. The school is a neighborhood-based option for families in a city that mixes historic industrial character with dense urban life; there is no separate campus, and students attend schools distributed across the city’s residential and commercial blocks.

The student body reflects the surrounding community’s demographics. Black and Hispanic students each make up substantial portions of enrollment. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of the district’s overall economic context—Paterson has a poverty rate in the range that makes it one of the state’s lower-income municipalities. Data on English learner and special education identification were not available for this school; families who need those details may want to ask the school directly.

In academic performance, the picture varies by subject and grade. On state English language arts assessments, students in the upper elementary and middle grades show results that are generally stronger than in math, with proficiency rates across several grades reaching levels that are solid compared to the state average for a high-needs urban school. The strongest reading results appear in seventh and eighth grade, where a clear majority of tested students met the state’s proficiency standard. Math results are more uneven. In the early elementary grades, roughly a third to half of students were proficient. By eighth grade, no student in the tested group reached the proficiency mark. Science results are low, with a small share of students scoring proficient at both the tested grade levels. Overall, the school’s combined proficiency index places it above the midpoint among districts in Passaic County.

The school does not offer high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Likewise, chronic absenteeism data was not available; a parent may want to look into this further with the school, as attendance patterns can affect academic progress.

Paterson itself is the third-largest municipality in New Jersey, a dense city with a history as a planned industrial center. Its modern economy includes smaller-scale manufacturing, public-sector employment, and a strong immigrant-founded business corridor along Main Street. The city has been growing modestly after a period of population decline, and development is partly anchored by the Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park. Housing values and rents in Paterson are lower than in many surrounding towns, consistent with its higher poverty rate.

The Paterson Public School District recently adopted a new five-year strategic plan to guide curriculum and programming through 2030, a publicly reported initiative focused on achievement and post-graduation readiness. A mid-2025 budget approved by the school board included a tax levy increase at the state cap, which directly affects property taxes for district residents.

Norman S. Weir sits within a large district in a city that faces real economic challenges. The school’s reading results in the middle grades are a relative bright spot, while math and science performance, especially in the later elementary and middle school years, is an area where families will want to understand what supports the school provides. The absence of several data points—special population counts, attendance, discipline—means a full picture of day-to-day conditions is not available from this data alone.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 331%

School 31% · District 23% · ▲ 8 pts above district

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

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 20% · ▲ 30 pts above district

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

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 15% · ▲ 26 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 629%

School 29% · District 13% · ▲ 17 pts above district

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

Grade 741%

School 41% · District 14% · ▲ 28 pts above district

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

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 8% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 344%

School 44% · District 22% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 456%

School 56% · District 27% · ▲ 29 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 558%

School 58% · District 24% · ▲ 35 pts above district

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

Grade 658%

School 58% · District 28% · ▲ 30 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 771%

School 71% · District 30% · ▲ 41 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 869%

School 69% · District 34% · ▲ 35 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Science

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 10% · ▲ 15 pts above district

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

Grade 85%

School 5% · District 4% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 2 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 6Lower-income57%Higher-income60%3 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income29%Higher-income30%2 pp gap