School 1, Paterson NJ - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on School 1

School 1 is a regular public elementary school in the Paterson Public School District, serving kindergarten through fifth grade. It sits within the Eastside neighborhood of Paterson, a dense, historically industrial city that has reinvented itself as a major immigrant destination, with active commercial corridors along Main Street and a substantial mix of Hispanic, Turkish, Arab, and South Asian communities. This is a school of modest size for its grade band, drawing from a residential area of two- and three-family homes near the border with Clifton.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a large Black share and very small populations of Asian, white, and multiracial students. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a high-poverty context that mirrors the city’s overall economic conditions. Paterson itself has a poverty rate above the national average, and the district serves a predominantly low-income population; the school’s composition is in line with that reality.

On the most recent state assessments, the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments, the proficiency picture varies meaningfully by grade and subject. In math, third graders posted a rate in the upper-middle range, fifth graders were in the middle, and fourth graders were below that. In English language arts, the pattern is clearer: rates climbed from a middle-range result in third grade to a strong result in fifth grade, where the share proficient was high. Science, tested only in fifth grade, had a lower proficiency rate, one that may give families cause to look into science instruction further. Taken together, the school’s overall proficiency index places it in the top quarter among all schools in Passaic County, which means that relative to other schools in the same county, this one performs well above the median.

Because School 1 stops at fifth grade, there is no high school graduation rate to report, and because the school is a regular elementary school without a specialized mission, it sits within the standard feeder pattern of Paterson Public Schools. The broader district recently adopted a five-year strategic plan focused on improving achievement and post-graduation readiness, and the school board approved a budget with the maximum allowable tax levy increase, a factor for district residents to note. The district’s priorities and fiscal choices will shape what happens in this building.

Housing in the school’s zip code carries a value that is modest relative to much of New Jersey but above the national median, reflecting Paterson’s urban affordability compared to nearby suburbs. Rents are also moderate, and the county housing market shows steady demand with active inventory growing. For a family considering this area, the housing costs are typical for a mid-sized New Jersey city with transit connections: the Paterson train station provides NJ Transit rail service, and major highways run through the city.

The school’s academic performance, particularly the strong fifth-grade English results and the overall proficiency relative to county peers, is a real strength for a building serving this population. A parent should weigh that against the lower science proficiency and the variation in math results across grades to determine fit. For families who want a neighborhood elementary school in a dense, diverse city with a significant immigrant community and a heavily low-income student population, School 1 offers a learning environment that, by county comparison, is performing well above the typical school in its area.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 367%

School 67% · District 23% · ▲ 43 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 20% · ▲ 13 pts above district

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

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 15% · ▲ 27 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 22% · ▲ 25 pts above district

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

Grade 458%

School 58% · District 27% · ▲ 31 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 577%

School 77% · District 24% · ▲ 53 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 39 pts above county median

Science

Grade 527%

School 27% · District 10% · ▲ 17 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 12 pts above 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-income46%Higher-income50%4 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income67%Higher-income67%0 pp gap