Spring Lake Heights Elementary School, Spring Lake Heights NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Spring Lake Heights Elementary School

Spring Lake Heights Elementary School is a single public school serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, and the only school in its district. Located on a campus that occupies a modest footprint in this small, primarily residential Jersey Shore borough, it draws its student body from the immediate community. The town is one of the older and more stable in Monmouth County, with a population that has flattened and aged over time, skewing away from families with young children, though the school itself remains the central public institution for those families who do live here. Because the school serves only through eighth grade, older students attend Manasquan High School through a sending-receiving arrangement, a common setup in this part of the state.

The student population is very small and, in its racial and ethnic composition, not reflective of the state or county as a whole. The vast majority of students are white, with very small shares of Hispanic and Asian students and no Black students reported. Just a small fraction of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, an indicator that this is an economically well-off community. A parent considering this school should recognize that the peer environment is homogeneous, and that this is a characteristic of the town, not a programmatic choice of the school.

Academically, the school posts a proficiency index that places it in the top quartile relative to other districts in Monmouth County, a strong showing. The state assessment results, where reported, show a school that performs well in English language arts. In third, sixth, seventh, and eighth grades, the share of students scoring proficient or above is high, and seventh grade ELA results were at complete proficiency across a tested group. Math results are more uneven. Third and seventh grade math also show high proficiency, but fourth and eighth grade math fall around the midpoint and below, respectively. Science results present the widest gap: fifth grade science proficiency is moderate, while eighth grade science proficiency is notably low, a weakness that a parent may want to look into further with the school, as the drop is large.

State testing data is available for grades three through eight, which is the tested range for this grade band, so the results give a full picture of the school’s current performance. No high school data exists because the school does not serve those grades, and no graduation rate applies. The school’s program offerings beyond the core academic subjects were not available in the provided data. The district did not report any recent changes or strategic priorities.

The housing market in the area is very expensive, with home values well above national and state benchmarks. Rent is also high, and the cost of living in this corner of Monmouth County is a significant factor for any family relocating here. The community is built out, with little new development, and it offers the kind of quiet, coastal-suburban life that appeals to families who prioritize a small, neighborhood school with strong literacy outcomes and who are comfortable with a setting that is both affluent and homogeneous. The school’s academic strengths are real, particularly in language arts, and the weak spot in middle-school science is the one clear area where a prospective parent would want to understand how the school is addressing it.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 378%

School 78% · District 78%

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

Grade 449%

School 49% · District 49%

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

Grade 566%

School 66% · District 66%

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

Grade 663%

School 63% · District 63%

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 781%

School 81% · District 81%

▲ 46 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

Grade 847%

School 47% · District 47%

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

English language arts

Grade 387%

School 87% · District 87%

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

Grade 454%

School 54% · District 54%

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

Grade 572%

School 72% · District 72%

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 680%

School 80% · District 80%

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

Grade 7100%

School 100% · District 100%

▲ 43 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

Grade 883%

School 83% · District 83%

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Science

Grade 559%

School 59% · District 59%

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

Grade 825%

School 25% · District 25%

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

This schoolSpring Lake Heights 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.