Thomas Jefferson Middle School, Teaneck NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Thomas Jefferson Middle School

Thomas Jefferson Middle School serves students in fifth through eighth grade in Teaneck, a bedroom community in Bergen County within the New York metropolitan area. The school is a regular public school and is one of the district’s middle schools.

The student body is diverse. Hispanic students make up the largest share, followed by Black students, Asian students, White students, and smaller numbers of students who identify as two or more races, American Indian or Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not available in the provided information.

On state assessments, the school’s academic performance varies noticeably by subject and by grade level. In English language arts, the share of students scoring proficient or above rises steadily from fifth grade through eighth grade. The strongest result is in eighth grade, where a majority of students meet that benchmark. In math, the trend moves in the opposite direction. Proficiency rates decline from fifth grade through eighth grade, with the eighth-grade result the weakest of any tested group in the school. In science, which is tested in fifth and eighth grades, proficiency is lower than the ELA and math results at those same grade levels. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand how math instruction and support are structured across grades, particularly for the oldest students.

When compared with other districts in Bergen County using a composite proficiency index across tested subjects and grades, Thomas Jefferson Middle School’s overall result sits in the bottom quartile. This is a broad measure that averages performance across all tested grades and subjects, and it puts the school below the midpoint of the county’s districts on this single composite. Because the school serves only middle grades, there is no graduation rate, and chronic absenteeism data was not available for the comparison.

Teaneck itself has no single downtown; instead it has four main commercial districts spread across the township. The built environment is suburban, with walkable pockets along corridors like Cedar Lane, which recently saw a streetscape investment adding pedestrian improvements. Major employers include a global technology company’s headquarters, a medical center, and a university campus, all embedded in the township rather than separated from it. The housing market in the area is expensive relative to national benchmarks, and rental costs are high as well.

The Teaneck School District opened a new early childhood school several years ago, which expanded capacity for PreK and Kindergarten students and redrew attendance patterns for the youngest children in the district. For families considering Thomas Jefferson Middle School, the academic picture is mixed, with relative strength in English language arts in the upper grades and a notable drop-off in math proficiency as students move through the school. The diverse student body reflects the broader township’s demographics, and the school operates within a district that has made recent investments in early learning facilities.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 42% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 35% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 732%

School 32% · District 31% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 817%

School 17% · District 23% · ▼ 6 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 47% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 653%

School 53% · District 60% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 755%

School 55% · District 56% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 864%

School 64% · District 58% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Science

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 24% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 817%

School 17% · District 14% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

This schoolTeaneck 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 5Lower-income37%Higher-income51%14 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income44%Higher-income61%17 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income45%Higher-income63%18 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income59%Higher-income68%10 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income35%Higher-income54%20 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income34%Higher-income52%18 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income19%Higher-income44%25 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income17%Higher-income17%0 pp gap