Toms River Intermediate School South, Beachwood NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Toms River Intermediate School South

Toms River Intermediate School South serves grades six through eight in Beachwood, a small, primarily residential borough in Ocean County. The school is part of the Toms River Regional School District, the largest suburban district in New Jersey, and sits on Pinewald Road within the borough. Beachwood itself is a mature, built-out community of single-family homes on small lots, originally developed as a summer colony and now a year-round residential borough with limited walkability and no traditional downtown. The Garden State Parkway runs through town, and NJ Transit provides bus service, but daily needs are largely accessed by car. The borough’s population has been relatively stable, with no major new housing developments, and the housing market in the area shows a median listing price that has edged down slightly in the county, though the broader Ocean County market remains active.

Toms River Intermediate School South is a regular public school serving grades six through eight. It is one of several intermediate schools in the Toms River Regional School District, the largest suburban district in New Jersey. The school’s enrollment is large for a middle school, and the student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic population and smaller shares of Black, Asian, and multiracial students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a moderate level of economic diversity.

On the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments, the school’s proficiency rates in English language arts are around the midpoint or slightly below it across grades six, seven, and eight, with seventh grade showing the highest rate. Math proficiency is lower, with a notable drop in eighth grade, where the rate is well below the state average. Science proficiency in eighth grade is also low. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested subjects and grades, places it in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Ocean County. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand the academic support and intervention strategies in place, particularly in math and science.

The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Data on chronic absenteeism, special education identification, and English learner populations were not available in the provided records, so a full picture of student support services is incomplete. The school’s participation rates on state assessments were also missing from the data, which can sometimes reflect the nature of the school or an untested grade range, though in this case the school is a regular public school serving tested grades, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about testing participation.

Beachwood is a small, fully built-out borough with a stable population. The housing market in the area shows a median home value that is above the national benchmark but below the state average, and the county market has seen a slight dip in median listing prices while remaining active. The Toms River Regional School District has been under financial pressure, losing a significant amount of state aid under New Jersey’s S2 funding formula, which has led to staff reductions and program cuts. Voters approved a bond referendum in 2022 to fund full-day kindergarten, which launched in 2023, but rejected a larger infrastructure bond in 2024, leaving facility needs unaddressed. These district-level financial dynamics are relevant for any family considering the school, as they affect both programming and local property taxes.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 625%

School 25% · District 26% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 725%

School 25% · District 30% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 89%

School 9% · District 13% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 48% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 746%

School 46% · District 55% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 52% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Science

Grade 813%

School 13% · District 15% · ▼ 2 pts below district

even with state median · even with county median

This schoolToms River Regional 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 6Lower-income28%Higher-income56%28 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income29%Higher-income61%32 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income28%Higher-income49%21 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income11%Higher-income36%25 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income15%Higher-income34%20 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income9%Higher-income9%0 pp gap