The top reported proficiency rate is 47% in Math. The lowest is 20% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Washington Street Elementary School
Washington Street Elementary School is a regular public school within the Toms River Regional School District, serving kindergarten through fifth grade. Enrolling over three hundred students, it is one of the district’s elementary schools and sits within the township of Toms River, the county seat of Ocean County. Toms River is a large, sprawling suburb with a mix of residential neighborhoods and commercial corridors; it anchors the region with the Ocean County Mall, county government offices, and a historic downtown village core along the water. The school itself operates in this car-dependent setting where daily life typically requires a vehicle.
The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic population as the next-largest group, and smaller shares of students who identify as two or more races, Black, or Asian. About a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure of economic need that places the school at a level common for public schools in the area. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about how it supports those populations.
On the New Jersey Student Learning Assessments, Washington Street’s results in math and English language arts show a mixed picture. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above was roughly in the mid-to-upper-forties across grades three through five. In English language arts, performance varied more by grade; third-grade proficiency was lower, roughly a third of students, while fourth and fifth grade rates were higher. Science results for fifth graders were notably lower, with fewer than a fifth of students reaching the proficient level. Compared to other schools in Ocean County, Washington Street’s overall proficiency across tested subjects sits above the midpoint among the county’s districts, placing it in the middle of the pack relative to its neighbors. A parent looking for a school where test results are solid but not exceptional will see that the school holds its own within the county.
Because Washington Street serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and the school does not offer advanced coursework, career pathways, or dual-credit programs that are typical of high schools. The absence of those measures is a function of its grade band, not a shortcoming. The data also did not include information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, class sizes, or staffing ratios, so a full picture of the daily school environment is incomplete from these figures alone.
The district context matters here. Toms River Regional recently launched full-day kindergarten in 2023, funded by a voter-approved bond that added classrooms and security upgrades across the elementary schools. That shift from half-day to full-day learning directly affects the kindergarten program at Washington Street. At the same time, the district has been losing state aid under New Jersey’s S2 funding formula, which has driven budget cuts, staff reductions, and a rising local tax levy. A larger bond to address infrastructure repairs across the district was rejected by voters in 2024, leaving facilities needs postponed. A parent considering this school should look into the condition of the building and the district’s plans for a revised bond proposal. These financial pressures are a long-term factor that may affect program stability and class size. The housing market in Toms River is active, with home values and rents roughly in line with the state average, and the township has been growing modestly in population, a trend driven by family-oriented residential demand and post-Superstorm Sandy rebuilding.
Washington Street Elementary School is a straightforward neighborhood elementary school in a large suburban district facing financial headwinds. Its academic results are about average for the county, and the surrounding community offers the amenities of a regional hub. Families who value a standard public elementary experience in a growing township with a mix of residential and commercial life will find it a reasonable fit, though the district’s budget situation and unanswered questions about special population supports are worth investigating further.
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