Forrestdale School, Rumson NJ - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Forrestdale School

Forrestdale School serves students in fourth through eighth grade in Rumson, a community in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The school is part of the Rumson Borough School District, which also operates an elementary school for younger students. Rumson is an affluent, primarily residential borough situated on a peninsula where the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers meet, known for its large-lot single-family homes and historic riverfront estates. There is no significant commercial district within the borough; daily life is car-dependent, and the community has long functioned as a commuter suburb within the New York metropolitan area, with many residents working in finance or other professional fields. The housing market reflects the area’s affluence: home values in Rumson’s ZIP code place it among the more expensive in the country, and property tax bills are among the highest in New Jersey. The borough is essentially built out, with limited room for large-scale new development, and the population has remained fairly stable in recent years.

Forrestdale is a regular public school with an enrollment that is predominantly white, with a much smaller share of students who are Hispanic, of two or more races, or Asian, and a very small number of Black students. A very small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a common indicator of low-income status. Data on the shares of students receiving special education services or classified as English learners was not available in the materials reviewed. Because the school serves grades four through eight, it does not report a high school graduation rate.

On state assessments administered through the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment, Forrestdale students posted results that place the school comfortably among the highest-performing in Monmouth County when compared with other districts. Across all tested subjects and grade levels, the overall proficiency rate was well above the midpoint for the county. In English language arts, a large majority of students scored at or above proficiency in every grade from four through eight, with the strongest performance in the upper grades. Math results were also strong, with a very high share of students meeting proficiency in fourth and fifth grades and slightly lower but still elevated rates in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. Science results were more mixed: a solid majority of fifth graders were proficient, but the share of eighth graders meeting proficiency was notably lower. A parent looking at that drop may want to discuss with the school how the eighth-grade science curriculum aligns with state testing expectations.

The school appears to be an academic environment suited for families who value consistently above-average test performance and a peer group drawn from an affluent, high-education community. Because the school is a middle school within a small district, its program offerings, elective choices, and support structures are not fully detailed in the available data; a family considering Forrestdale would want to ask directly about course options in the upper grades, particularly in science and math, and about any services for students who may need extra support.

Rumson’s civic and recreational life centers on its parks, a community center, and nearby private clubs, rather than a downtown. Students in grades nine through twelve attend Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School, a comprehensive high school located in Rumson that also serves the neighboring borough of Fair Haven. The district brief turned up no recent major changes, budget shifts, or program overhauls that would alter a family’s sense of stability here. For a parent seeking a middle school with strong measured academic results in a high-cost, low-poverty, commuter suburb, Forrestdale is a direct fit.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 490%

School 90% · District 90%

▲ 44 pts above state median · ▲ 36 pts above county median

Grade 588%

School 88% · District 88%

▲ 45 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Grade 681%

School 81% · District 81%

▲ 47 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 787%

School 87% · District 87%

▲ 52 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

Grade 875%

School 75% · District 75%

▲ 58 pts above state median · ▲ 45 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 485%

School 85% · District 85%

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 590%

School 90% · District 90%

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 695%

School 95% · District 95%

▲ 41 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 797%

School 97% · District 97%

▲ 39 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 892%

School 92% · District 92%

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

Science

Grade 574%

School 74% · District 74%

▲ 47 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

Grade 856%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 43 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

This schoolRumson Borough 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.