Plainfield Academy for the Arts & Advanced Studies, Plainfield NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Plainfield Academy for the Arts & Advanced Studies

Plainfield Academy for the Arts & Advanced Studies is a regular public school in the Plainfield Public School District, serving students from seventh through twelfth grade. It is a school of roughly moderate size for covering that grade span. The student body is predominantly Hispanic and Black, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The school’s name signals a focus on arts and advanced studies, though specific program offerings were not available in the data to detail what that focus looks like in practice.

On state assessments, the school’s academic picture breaks unevenly across subjects. In English language arts, students performed in a range that suggests many are meeting grade-level expectations, with proficiency rates that are a clear relative strength for this school. In mathematics, the proficiency rates were low, and in eighth-grade science, the proficiency rate was very low. Overall, when combining tested subjects and grades, the school’s proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among districts in Union County. Most students at this school are not yet meeting state benchmarks in math and science, which is a soft spot a parent may want to investigate directly with the school to understand what interventions and supports are in place.

The school sits in Plainfield, a city the public record describes as a mix of residential and commercial uses that functions as both an urban center for its region and a bedroom suburb of New York. The city has a traditional downtown near its NJ Transit station, and its population became majority Latino for the first time in the 2020 census. Publicly reported figures describe over a billion dollars in new redevelopment projects underway, signaling substantial growth and demographic change. Housing values in the area sit near the middle of the national range, and the local housing market shows moderate activity.

The district itself recently completed a major facility project: a new elementary school that replaced two older buildings. That kind of capital investment can affect school assignments and the condition of learning spaces across the district, but it does not directly speak to the academy’s own facilities.

Because the school serves grades seven through twelve, a graduation rate could be expected, but that metric was not available in the data. No data was provided on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing ratios, or course access such as Advanced Placement or dual enrollment, so those dimensions of the school’s environment are unknown here. A parent considering this school would need to ask the school or district directly about those areas, particularly about academic supports in math and science and about the specific advanced coursework and arts pathways the school’s name implies.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=95%Cohort of 75 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

425 schools plotted. 7 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 716%

School 16% · District 15% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 10% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 755%

School 55% · District 25% · ▲ 30 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 856%

School 56% · District 24% · ▲ 33 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 86%

School 6% · District 3% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

This schoolPlainfield 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 8Lower-income53%Higher-income64%11 pp gap