Here's How Wayne Schools Rank Statewide

WAYNE, NJ — For the first time since 2020, New Jersey's school rankings are back, showing how your local schools compare to 2,300 others across the state. Some Wayne schools are performing better than their peers, while others are closer to the middle of the pack.

Along with the school performance reports released the first week of April are school-by-school summative scores and ratings, which compares districts and also gives a number score that measures how well each school is doing in academic achievement and progress.

So, how did Wayne Township schools score in the state’s annual school report card?

With a total score of 99 possible points, Wayne’s 14 scored schools had an average score of 60.74 and a median score of 63.78. Township schools ranged in score from 39.69 (Theunis Dey Elementary School) to 85.80 (John F. Kennedy Elementary School). Full scores are below.

And, you may see scores and percentile rankings for every school here – School Ratings Return In NJ: See Where Your School Ranks

How are summative scores calculated?

Schools are broken down into categories by configuration, or what grade levels they serve, and compared to others in that category. These include elementary/middle school, high school, and a mixed configuration school which combines many grades into one building.

Elementary schools which only teach children under grade three are not included, as there is no state testing at this level.

Based on the configuration, the NJ Department of Education looks at the schools’ four-year graduation rate, five-year graduation rate, English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency, math proficiency, ELA growth, math growth, and progress towards English language proficiency (ELP). A school needs to have data on three of these elements to have its score reviewed in the standard manner.

The rate of chronic absenteeism is also included in the score. Student performance is measured overall, but also focuses on how students are doing in underserved subgroups classified by race, nationality, economic situation, and special education.

What do these scores and ratings mean?

"Summative scores" provide a number from 1-100, and are based on factors listed above such as graduation rates and progress in English and math. Higher scores are better, and certain schools with lower scores are put into categories for support and improvement.

Schools are compared to one another based on grade level, as well, in the "summative ratings." For example, schools that serve high school students only are compared with one another. These are percentile ratings from 1-100, so a school with a rating closer to 100 is among the best of its peers.

It is possible for a school to have a higher summative rating than summative score, and vice-versa.

Here’s the breakdown of scores for Wayne Public Schools.

Elementary Schools

• School | Summative Score | Summative Rating
• Albert Payson Terhune Elementary| 50.5 |49.57
• James Fallon Elementary School | 48.78 | 46.65
• John F. Kennedy Elementary School | 85.8 | 94.91
• Lafayette Elementary School | 67.84 | 74.01
• Packanack Elementary School | 72.74 | 81.28
• Pines Lake Elementary School | 70.29 | 77.79
• Randall Carter Elementary School | 72.49 | 80.94
• Ryerson Elementary School | 39.8 | 32.57
• Schuyler Colfax Middle School | 76.12 | 85.63
• Theunis Dey Elementary School | 39.69 | 32.4

Middle Schools

• School | Summative Score |Summative Rating
• Anthony Wayne Middle School | 45.96 | 42.13
• George Washington Middle School | 51.12 | 50.37
• Schuyler Colfax Middle School | 76.12 | 85.63

High Schools

• School | Summative Score | Summative Rating
• Wayne Hills High School | 69.51 | 75.56
• Wayne Valley High School | 59.72 | 63.06

The scores were established to comply with the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which replaced the No Child Left Behind Act. The state did not score schools in 2019-20 and 2020-21, because the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted state testing and New Jersey was granted a waiver from accountability- related requirements under ESSA.

In every state, ESSA requires school districts to measure student performance and develop a “State Report Card” which parents can explore online, with quantifiable measurements like a score or a letter grade for how schools are performing. ESSA also requires states to report how much money, on average, they spend per student.