Princeton School District Named Best In State In New Rankings

PRINCETON, NJ — The accolades keep coming for the Princeton Public School District.
The district has been ranked as the top school district in New Jersey and the 14th best district in the country by Niche.com.

The West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District was ranked third in the state and 55th in the country on the same list. Princeton Day School was ranked as the fourth best private school in the state.

In compiling its rankings, Niche.com looked at data from the U.S. Department of Education as well as test scores, college data and ratings collected from users.

The methodology for each category of ranking varied. (Click here for more information on how Niche calculates its rankings.)

Niche assigns a standardized score for each factor, which is then weighted before an overall score is calculated for each school district. The overall scores are again standardized and some districts are disqualified from receiving a final letter grade if there isn’t enough data. School districts are then ranked numerically and assigned grades.

Princeton received an overall grade of A+ from Niche.com. It received an A+ for academics, teachers, clubs and activities, and college prep, as well as an A for health and safety. (See the full report card here).

“I enjoyed my experience as a member of the student community. Everyone is very supportive of each other,” one reviewer wrote. “My teachers were excellent instructors and generally seemed to care about students as complete individuals. My college counselor was great but I wish I had more support from my regular academic guidance counselor and the administration.”

The ranking is the latest accolade for the school, which was named No. 6 in New Jersey and No. 155 nationally on U.S. News and World Report’s 2017 list of best public high schools, released in April.

In Niche's rankings, the West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District earned an overall grade of A+, with an A+ in individual categories such as academics, teachers and college prep.

"I love the environment of the schools, as the student body is very diverse and welcoming," one reviewer wrote. "Teachers integrate important life skills and competencies into their teaching, so along with learning the necessary curriculum, students are also able to learn skills such as research and public speaking. I would love to see a more technology oriented aspect in learning, as currently we integrate the use of computers or Chromebooks into our student lives. There are a variety of clubs and sports to choose from, but having issues and conflicts over the space provided outside and in the gym hinders the progress of certain teams, especially when main sports such as boys soccer and football are prioritized. Having more field and gym space would help all of the teams gain more practice time after school instead of having to wait for other teams to finish before using the same field after."

Princeton Day School earned an overall grade of A+, with an A+ for academics, teachers, college prep and for clubs and activities. (See the full report card here.)

"I had a great experience at PDS and would do it again. The school has great academics across all departments, although historically the history and arts departments have stood out," one reviewer wrote. "That said, the science department has advanced impressive amounts in the past few years. PDS has some extraordinary teachers, ones with significant success in their respective fields. There are, however, just like any school, those teachers who are simply okay. The sports teams have seen a high degree of success in the past few years, as well as increasing amounts of recruits.The school culture and community are also generally good, although school spirit seems to be somewhat down this year. The administration could also stand to be a little more involved, as sometimes it seems interactions with students are at arm's length. Overall, this is a great school with some areas that can be improved, and I expect the school to become only more nationally well-known and ranked as the school expands and improves."

The Lawrenceville School topped the list of private schools in New Jersey.

According to Niche, these are the 25 best public school districts in New Jersey:

1. Princeton Public Schools (14th in nation)
2. Millburn Township Schools (36th in nation)
3. West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District (55th in nation)
4. Livingston Public Schools (97th in nation)
5. Summit Public Schools
6. The School District of the Chathams
7. Bernards Township School District
8. Montgomery Township School District
9. Tenafly Public Schools
10. West Essex Regional School District, North Caldwell
11. East Brunswick Public Schools
12. Pascack Valley Regional High School District, Montvale
13. Moorestown Township Public School District
14. Montclair Public Schools
15. Ridgewood Public Schools
16. South Brunswick Public Schools
17. West Morris Regional High School District
18. Hopewell Valley Regional School District
19. Glen Ridge Public Schools
20. Haddonfield Public Schools
21. Fair Lawn School District
22. Mountain Lakes School District
23. Somerset Hills Regional School District, Bernardsville
24. Northern Valley Regional High School District, Demarest
25. Berkeley Heights Public Schools

Click here to see the full list.

Niche’s data for its K-12 school district rankings comes from various sources, including the U.S. Department of Education, the National Center for Education Statistics and the Civil Rights Data Collection.

The rankings also rely on data that is self-reported by Niche users and schools. (Click here to learn more about where Niche’s data comes from.)

What do you think of the rankings? Let us know in the comments below.

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