The top reported proficiency rate is 51% in English language arts. The lowest is 43% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Livingston Elementary
Livingston Elementary serves preschool through fourth grade in the Township of Union School District, a regular public school in a township that mixes residential neighborhoods, industry, and major commercial corridors. The school sits in a community that has seen steady population growth, with ongoing residential demand in a densely settled suburban setting near major highways and rail transit. Families can expect a car-oriented environment with limited walkability, though the Union train station offers access to the Raritan Valley Line. The township hosts Kean University and a range of industrial and retail employers, including a large Home Depot superstore.
The school enrolls just under five hundred students, making it a mid-sized elementary for its grade band. The student body is diverse. It is predominantly Black and Hispanic, with a substantial share of white and Asian students, and smaller numbers of students who identify as two or more races, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. About one-third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is a meaningful share but not the majority.
State testing data from the New Jersey Student Learning Assessment shows a mixed picture. In third-grade math, the proficiency rate fell below half of students tested, a soft spot that families may want to ask the school about further. Fourth-grade math was stronger, with roughly half of students reaching proficiency. In English language arts, third-grade proficiency was below half, while fourth-grade results improved notably, with more than half of students meeting the bar. The pattern suggests that academic performance strengthens as students move through the school, and that a parent considering this school may want to examine how the school supports early literacy and math skills, especially in third grade. Overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places Livingston above the midpoint among districts in Union County, indicating that the school performs better than many of its county peers when all tested results are averaged together.
The school's grade configuration is shifting. Under a district-wide reorganization approved in early 2024 and implemented in the fall of 2025, Jefferson School became a full PreK through fifth grade building, while all other elementary schools, including Livingston, now serve PreK through fourth grade. Sixth graders attend one of two middle schools. This restructuring affects school assignments for families living in Livingston's attendance zone. As part of the same reorganization, the district introduced expanded world language instruction, with Spanish now offered to all elementary students in kindergarten through fourth grade, a new curriculum offering at this level.
In late 2023, voters approved a referendum funding roof replacements, security vestibules at school entrances, HVAC improvements, and other facility upgrades across all ten district schools. These projects are being completed over a span of time and carry implications for school facilities and property taxes. Families moving into the district will want to understand the tax impact of this approved spending.
Housing in the area reflects a competitive market. Home values and rents are substantial, and the median listing price in the county places homeownership out of reach for many households, with affordability metrics showing a significant gap between income and housing costs. Renting is less expensive than buying at current mortgage rates, though rent still consumes a meaningful share of income. The local housing market shows moderate supply and demand, with homes spending a modest amount of time on the market before selling.
The district's high school, Union High School, serves ninth through twelfth graders, but Livingston's grade band ends at fourth grade, so no graduation rate data is available at this school. The brief academic data set includes no information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or staffing. A parent may want to ask directly about class sizes, teacher retention, and behavioral climate. The school appears to be a Title I school, but specific designation was not available in the data. The overall take is of a modestly performing elementary school in a diverse, growing township with recent facility investments and a district-wide grade reconfiguration that families will need to understand before enrolling.
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