How Middletown Schools Rank In New State Report

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — In a controversial new grading system released Wednesday by the New Jersey Department of Education, Middletown Village and Nut Swamp elementary schools were ranked as the best schools in the Middletown school district.

Meanwhile, Ocean Avenue, New Monmouth and Port Monmouth elementary schools were at the bottom of the list.

For the second year in a row, the NJ DOE grades every school in the state (all 2,088 of them) on a 1-100 scale. The new ratings were established to comply with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act, which replaced the No Child Left Behind Act.

The ratings for high schools are based on graduation and absenteeism rates and PARCC scores, while elementary and middle school scores are based on absenteeism, PARCC and student progress on PARCC tests.

Based on the reports, schools that finished with at least a 50 score could be considered average. Schools that finish in the top 20 percent are considered above average. Schools below 50 percent are considered below-average schools.

Here's how Middletown public schools performed (out of 2,088 total public schools in the state of New Jersey):

• Number 122: MIDDLETOWN VILLAGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MIDDLETOWN TWP, MONMOUTH 84.72

• Number 209: NUT SWAMP ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MIDDLETOWN TWP, MONMOUTH 79.42

• Number 424: FAIRVIEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MIDDLETOWN TWP, MONMOUTH 70.76

• Number 454: RIVER PLAZA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MIDDLETOWN TWP, MONMOUTH 69.53

• Number 525: MIDDLETOWN HIGH SCHOOL SOUTH, MIDDLETOWN TWP, MONMOUTH 66.38

• Number 739: LINCROFT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MIDDLETOWN TWP, MONMOUTH 59.62

• Number 914: BAYSHORE MIDDLE SCHOOL, MIDDLETOWN TWP, MONMOUTH 54.67

• Number 1,010: THOMPSON MIDDLE SCHOOL, MIDDLETOWN TWP, MONMOUTH 51.55

• Number 1,085: NAVESINK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MIDDLETOWN TWP, MONMOUTH 49.25

• Number 1,136: THORNE MIDDLE SCHOOL, MIDDLETOWN TWP, MONMOUTH 47.79
• Number 1,272: LEONARDO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MIDDLETOWN TWP, MONMOUTH 43.88
• Number 1,337: BAYVIEW ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MIDDLETOWN TWP, MONMOUTH 42.17
• Number 1,429: MIDDLETOWN HIGH SCHOOL NORTH, MIDDLETOWN TWP, MONMOUTH 38.65
• Number 1,481: HARMONY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MIDDLETOWN TWP, MONMOUTH 36.99
• Number 1,644: OCEAN AVENUE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MIDDLETOWN TWP, MONMOUTH 31.41
• Number 1,651: NEW MONMOUTH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MIDDLETOWN TWP, MONMOUTH 31.20
• Number 1,734: PORT MONMOUTH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MIDDLETOWN TWP, MONMOUTH 28.05

Educators say the rankings paint an incomplete picture.

Frank Belluscio, a spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association, has said a single number or letter grade by itself "draws an incomplete picture of school performance and the quality of education provided to its students."

For a complete statewide list of rankings, click here.

Schools that have third grade or higher also have "summative percentile rating," which shows how they compare to other high schools, middle and elementary schools. Those give elementary schools more weight in their scoring because they don't have the exact same criteria as high schools (like graduation rates).

According to Wednesday's ranking, here are the top five schools in the state:

1. EDWARD H. BRYAN, CRESSKILL BORO, BERGEN 97.47
2. WYOMING SCHOOL, MILLBURN TWP, ESSEX 97.05
3. KNOLLWOOD SCHOOL, FAIR HAVEN BORO, MONMOUTH 96.73
4. COMMUNICATIONS HIGH SCHOOL, MONMOUTH CO VOCATIONAL, MONMOUTH 96.45
5. MENDHAM TOWNSHIP ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MENDHAM TWP, MORRIS 96.31

And here are the bottom five:
2084. PAULSBORO JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL, PAULSBORO BORO, GLOUCESTER 0.12
2085. RILETTA TWYNE CREAM FAMILY SCHOOL, CAMDEN CITY, CAMDEN 0.06
2086. PALISADES PARK JR-SR HIGH SCHOOL, PALISADES PARK, BERGEN 0.00
2087. CAMDEN HIGH SCHOOL, CAMDEN CITY, CAMDEN 0.00
2088. EAGLE ACADEMY FOR YOUNG MEN OF NEWARK, NEWARK CITY, ESSEX 0.00