How Woodbridge Schools Rank In New State Report

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — In a controversial new grading system released Wednesday by the New Jersey Department of Education, Mawbey Street and Kennedy Park elementary schools were ranked as the best schools in the Woodbridge school district, while Matthew Jago and Ross Street 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 Woodbridge Twp. public schools performed (out of 2,088 total public schools in the state of New Jersey):

Number 303: MAWBEY STREET ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 75.55

Number 327: KENNEDY PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 74.17

Number 626: ROBERT MASCENIK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 62.75

Number 798: PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 58.02

Number 813: WOODBINE AVENUE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 57.65

Number 1,089: OAK RIDGE HEIGHTS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 49.17

Number 1,100: INDIANA AVENUE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 48.98

Number 1,105: ISELIN MIDDLE SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 48.84

Number 1,108: LAFAYETTE ESTATES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 48.79

Number 1,186: JOHN F. KENNEDY MEMORIAL HIGH SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 46.40

Number 1,275: PORT READING AVENUE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 43.85

Number 1,301: COLONIA MIDDLE SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 43.22

Number 1,362: COLONIA HIGH SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 41.43

Number 1,452: FORD AVENUE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 38.03

Number 1,459: CLAREMONT AVENUE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 37.79

Number 1,556: AVENEL STREET ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 34.42

Number 1,712: LYNN CREST ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 29.20

Number 1,770: WOODBRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 26.62

Number 1,912: MENLO PARK TERRACE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 19.32

Number 1,916: WOODBRIDGE MIDDLE SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 19.14

Number 1,919: AVENEL MIDDLE SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 18.97

Number 1,941: FORDS MIDDLE SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 17.53

Number 2,019: MATTHEW JAGO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 11.24

Number 2,041: ROSS STREET ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, WOODBRIDGE TWP, MIDDLESEX 8.79

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