James Caldwell Elementary School, Springfield NJ

Original Research by School Decision on James Caldwell Elementary School

James Caldwell Elementary School is one of two elementary buildings in Springfield, New Jersey, that serve grades three through five. It is a regular public school within the Springfield Public School District. The school sits in a suburban township in Union County, an area shaped by major highway corridors like Interstate 78 and U.S. Route 22 that make car travel dominant. Springfield’s public schools are spread across separate campuses rather than clustered in a downtown, and the district includes an early childhood center, two elementary schools for upper grades, a middle school, and a high school. For families living in the attendance zone for this building, the school is the upper-elementary step before students move on to the district’s middle school.

The student body is diverse in its composition. More than half of the students are white, and the rest come from a mix of backgrounds: a substantial share identify as Hispanic, with smaller shares of Black, Asian, and multiracial students. A modest portion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a figure that sits well below the statewide average and signals a generally higher-income community context. The school’s enrollment is small enough that each grade has multiple sections but not so large that the building feels anonymous.

On state assessments, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it above the midpoint among Union County districts, a solid position in a competitive suburban county. Looking at individual subjects and grades, the results show variation. In English language arts, fourth and fifth graders hit proficiency at a rate that is comfortably above the state median, while third graders are lower, with about half meeting the bar. In math, fourth graders also perform well, and third graders are in the mid-range. Fifth-grade math is noticeably weaker, with just over half reaching proficiency. Science, which is tested only in fifth grade, is a soft spot: fewer than two out of five students scored proficient. That science result is one a parent may want to investigate further with the school, since it is a clear drop-off from the ELA and math outcomes in the same grade.

Because the school serves only grades three through five, there is no graduation rate to report, and no chronic absenteeism data was available. The district brief turned up no recent major changes or initiatives that would alter a family’s sense of the school’s direction. Housing costs in Springfield’s zip code are high, above the state median and well above the national median, reflecting the broader Union County market. The local rental market is priced accordingly, and buying a home here requires significant means.

For a family considering James Caldwell, the school offers an upper-elementary setting in a suburban district with solid math and reading outcomes in most grades. The main academic concern is science in fifth grade, and the math dip in that same grade is worth attention. The community is car-dependent, with no walkable downtown core, but it has parks, historical sites, and bus service. The student body is economically less diverse than many New Jersey districts, a reflection of the area’s housing costs.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 365%

School 65% · District 62% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 62% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 63% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 353%

School 53% · District 53% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 469%

School 69% · District 65% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 566%

School 66% · District 69% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 41% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

This schoolSpringfield 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-income60%Higher-income50%10 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income53%Higher-income72%19 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income58%Higher-income68%9 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income50%Higher-income70%20 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income53%Higher-income71%18 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income39%Higher-income58%20 pp gap