Madison Elementary School, Rahway NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Madison Elementary School

Madison Elementary School serves students from pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in Rahway, a mixed-use city in Union County that has been steadily growing and reinventing itself. The school is a regular public school within the Rahway Public School District, and it sits in a city that functions as a bedroom community of New York City while also hosting Merck & Co.'s global headquarters and research campus. The district itself has not seen major recent changes that would be visible to a parent, such as a referendum or curriculum overhaul, based on publicly available information.

The student body at Madison is diverse. The largest group of students is Hispanic, followed by Black and White students, with smaller shares of Asian students and students of two or more races. About half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is a substantial share and places the school in a context where economic need is a factor in the community. The school serves pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, and the enrollment is moderate for an elementary school of this grade span.

State testing results from the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment show a mixed picture across subjects and grade levels. In English language arts, performance varies noticeably by grade. Fourth and fifth graders posted proficiency rates that were solid, with fifth graders reaching a level that is a clear strength for the school. Third and sixth graders had lower proficiency rates in ELA, and a parent may want to ask the school about the support available for students in those grades. In math, the results are more uneven. Fourth graders had a proficiency rate that was the strongest among the tested grades, while third and sixth graders were lower, and fifth graders had a rate that was a soft spot. In science, the proficiency rate for fifth graders was low, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint when compared with other districts in Union County.

The school serves pre-kindergarten through sixth grade, so there is no graduation rate to report. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. Information on special populations such as students with IEPs and English learners was not available in the data provided. The school's website and other details about course access, staffing, and discipline were also not available in the data.

Rahway itself is a dense, mixed-use city that has been growing steadily. It is a bedroom community of New York City, with a train station downtown that provides direct access to Newark and Manhattan. The city has a traditional street grid and a downtown arts district, and it has been reinventing itself around the arts and biological sciences, anchored by Merck & Co.'s global headquarters. Housing values in the area are moderate for the region, and the rental market reflects the broader Union County context. The district has not had any major recent changes that would be visible to a parent, such as a referendum or curriculum overhaul, based on publicly available information.

For a family considering Madison Elementary, the school offers a diverse student body in a growing city with good transit access to New York City. The academic picture is mixed, with some grade levels and subjects showing solid results and others where proficiency is lower. A parent may want to ask the school about the support structures in place for the grades and subjects where performance is weaker, and about the school's approach to science instruction, given the low proficiency rate in that subject.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 333%

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

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 25% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 19% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 628%

School 28% · District 22% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 326%

School 26% · District 26%

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

Grade 452%

School 52% · District 43% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 563%

School 63% · District 52% · ▲ 11 pts above district

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

Grade 640%

School 40% · District 51% · ▼ 11 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 514%

School 14% · District 18% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

This schoolRahway 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-income19%Higher-income32%13 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income43%Higher-income63%19 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income48%Higher-income76%28 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income28%Higher-income52%24 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income31%Higher-income36%5 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income20%Higher-income71%51 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income11%Higher-income24%13 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income20%Higher-income36%16 pp gap