The top reported proficiency rate is 82% in English language arts. The lowest is 50% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Tenafly Middle School
Tenafly Middle School sits in one of New Jersey’s highest-income communities, a residential suburb with a small downtown and winding, hill-driven streets that rise toward the Palisades. The school serves grades six through eight and is part of the Tenafly Public School District. The borough itself has a steady population and a housing market that reflects its desirability: home values are well above national and state benchmarks, and rents are correspondingly steep, making this an expensive place to live. For a family already in Tenafly or looking to move in, the middle school is the sole option for those grades; there is no choice among multiple middle schools within the district.
The student body is roughly evenly split between white and Asian students, with a much smaller share of Hispanic students and a very small number of Black students. The share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch is very low, consistent with the community’s high-income profile. With an enrollment in the low hundreds per grade, the school is not small, but it is manageable in size for a middle school. The school does not appear to report data on students with disabilities or English learners in the available records, so a parent with a child who has an Individualized Education Program or is learning English may want to ask the school directly about those resources.
Academically, this is a strong school. On the state’s NJSLA assessments, proficiency rates in both English language arts and math are solidly above the midpoint when compared with other districts in Bergen County. The school’s overall proficiency index places it in the top quarter of the county’s districts, which is a competitive field. In English, the majority of students in each grade score at proficient or above, with the seventh-grade cohort performing especially well. Math results are also strong in sixth and seventh grades, though the eighth-grade math proficiency rate is noticeably lower than the other two grades. This drop may reflect the nature of the eighth-grade math assessment or the course enrollment patterns, but a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what math pathways are available and how students are placed. Science results, tested only in eighth grade, show about half of students at the proficient level under a different scoring standard than the one used for math and English. There is no graduation rate to report here, as the school ends at eighth grade.
The district has made recent investments that matter to families. Voters approved a referendum for roof replacements at multiple schools, district-wide security upgrades, and other facility improvements, with minimal estimated tax impact due to state aid. The board of education also adopted a weighted grades policy for AP and Honors courses at the high school, which will affect GPA calculations for students entering high school. For the current school year, the district introduced a budget that keeps all existing programs and adds funding for mental health support and technology, with a tax levy increase that stays under the cap.
Tenafly is a commuter town. NJ Transit bus service provides local and express routes to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan, and major roads like the Palisades Interstate Parkway and U.S. Route 9W run through the borough. The town’s civic anchors include the Tenafly Nature Center near the Palisades and the Municipal Center downtown. The district’s six schools are spread across the borough rather than clustered on one campus, which may affect drop-off routes and the sense of neighborhood connection to the school.
For a family that values high academic expectations, a community with very low poverty, and steady district investment in facilities and programming, Tenafly Middle School fits well. The main considerations are the cost of housing, the school’s size, and the need to understand the math trajectory through middle school.
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