Livingston Ranks High On New ‘Best School Districts’ List

LIVINGSTON, NJ — A new ranking of the “Best School Districts in New Jersey” includes Livingston’s public schools near the top of the charts. A private school in the town, Newark Academy, also rated well on a separate list.

On Monday, education information website Niche.com released its 2022 Best Schools and Districts rankings. Now in its eighth year, the K-12 school rankings include updated data for 94,491 public schools, 2,489 private schools and 11,846 school districts nationwide.

Here’s how researchers reached their conclusions, Niche.com said:

“While traditional rankings rely almost exclusively on metrics like test scores and academic performance, Niche’s rankings provide a more personal view of a school. They combine user input — ratings from current students, alumni and parents — with quantitative data from sources like the U.S. Department of Education to evaluate teachers, resources and facilities, extracurricular activity opportunities and more.”

Among New Jersey school districts, Livingston emerged near the top of the list, ranking as the sixth-best in the state. According to Niche.com, it scored an “A+” in academics, teachers, clubs/activities, college prep and health/safety. Its only “B” score was in “diversity.”

Niche.com says of the district:

“The Livingston Public School District is a top-rated district located in Livingston. It has 6,151 students in grades PK, K-12 with a student-teacher ratio of 12 to 1. According to state test scores, 73% of students are at least proficient in math and 86% in reading.”

For the 2022 state list, the top-rated school district in New Jersey was also in Essex County: the Millburn Public School District.

Livingston was also home to one of the “best private high schools” in New Jersey on this year’s list: Newark Academy. The school ranked as the third-best in the state.

See the full national ranking list and read about its methodology here.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Sign up for Patch email newsletters. Learn more about posting announcements or events to your local Patch site. Don’t forget to visit the Patch Livingston Facebook page.