Franklin Elementary School, Trenton NJ

Original Research by School Decision on Franklin Elementary School

Franklin Elementary School serves kindergarten through third grade in Trenton, the state capital of New Jersey. Because the school ends at third grade, it does not have a graduation rate, and the state testing picture is limited to the grades it actually serves. The school is part of the Trenton Public School District, which is currently developing a new strategic plan and has implemented a district-wide cell-phone-free policy using Yondr pouches, a change that directly shapes the daily school experience.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a much smaller share of Black students and very small numbers of white, Asian, and multiracial students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school serves kindergarten through third grade, and enrollment is spread fairly evenly across those four grade levels.

State assessment results are available for third-grade math and English language arts, and for fifth-grade science from an earlier year. In third-grade math, about a quarter of students met the state's proficiency standard. In third-grade English language arts, the share was lower, with roughly one in six students reaching proficiency. The fifth-grade science results, from a prior testing cycle, showed a very small share of students meeting the standard. Overall, the school's proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Mercer County. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand the academic support and intervention programs in place.

The school serves a population where a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on the share of students with individualized education plans and English learner status was not available in the source materials.

Franklin Elementary is located in Trenton, a dense city that is the state capital and the county seat of Mercer County. The city's economy is dominated by state government, though it retains a legacy of manufacturing. Trenton is served by three commuter rail systems and has encouraged transit-oriented development. The district has implemented a cell-phone-free school day using Yondr pouches, a policy that families should be aware of. The district is also in the process of developing a new strategic plan, which may shape priorities in the coming years.

Because the school serves only kindergarten through third grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and the testing data is limited to the grades the school actually teaches. The school's overall proficiency index, which averages the available test results, falls in the bottom quartile among districts in Mercer County. A parent considering this school may want to ask about the specific academic interventions and supports available, particularly in literacy and math, and about how the school prepares students for the upper elementary grades they will move into.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 326%

School 26% · District 12% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 317%

School 17% · District 8% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Science

Grade 53%

School 3% · District 3% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

This schoolTrenton 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-income15%Higher-income23%8 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income18%Higher-income9%9 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income15%Higher-income18%3 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income24%Higher-income31%6 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income13%Higher-income9%4 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income15%Higher-income2%12 pp gap