These Are The Best Middle Schools In NJ: U.S. News Ranking

NEW JERSEY — School 28 in Paterson is the best public middle school in New Jersey, according to a new ranking from U.S. News & World Report.

U.S. News researchers based the 2025 ranking of the nation’s best public middle schools on publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education. The researchers analyzed 59,128 middle schools for the report, and ranked close to 30,000 of them.

As a note, School 28 also topped the U.S. News list for best public elementary schools in New Jersey, which you can read about here.

The top 25 public middle schools in New Jersey are:

1. School 28, Paterson Public School District
2. Infinity Institute, Jersey City Public Schools
3. Upper School, Englewood Cliffs School District
4. Thomas Edison Energysmart Charter School
5. Mendham Township Middle School
6. Princeton Charter School
7. Forrestdale School, Rumson Borough School District
8. Markham Place School, Little Silver Boro School District
9. Ho-Ho-Kus Public School, Ho-Ho-Kus School District
10. Hatikvah International Academy Charter School
11. Brookside School, Allendale Public School District
12. Sara M. Gilmore Academy, Union City School District
13. Mountain View School, Mendham Borough School District
14. Deerfield Elementary School, Mountainside School District
15. Knollwood School, Fair Haven School District
16. Millburn Middle School, Millburn Township School District
17. Harding Township School, Harding Township School District
18. Tenafly Middle School, Tenafly Public School District
19. John Adams Middle School, Edison Township School District
20. Academy I, Jersey City Public Schools
21. Woodcliff Middle School, Woodcliff Lake School District
22. Woodrow Wilson Middle School, Edison Township School District
23. Old Turnpike School, Tewksbury Township School District
24. Nicholas Oresko Community School, Bayonne School District
25. Cranbury School, Cranbury Township School District

Go here to see the full list of best New Jersey middle schools.

The methodology for the rankings focused on state assessments of students who were proficient or above proficient in math and reading/language arts, while also accounting for students’ background and their achievements in core subjects. Student-teacher ratios were applied to break ties.

The rankings are intended as an evaluation tool to give parents a snapshot of how well schools provide a high-quality education and prepare students for a successful future, said LaMont Jones, Managing Editor for Education at U.S. News, in a news release.

Related article — The Best Elementary Schools In NJ: See New U.S. News Rankings