Here's How Long Valley K-8 Schools Rank: U.S. News

LONG VALLEY, NJ — Washington Township's middle schoolers do better than the elementary schoolers, according to the latest education rankings from U.S. News & World Report.

The news outlet based its 2024 Best Elementary and Middle School Rankings on publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education, focusing on student proficiency in core subject areas.

Families can use the annual rankings to compare schools at the national, state and local levels on factors such as academic performance and student-teacher ratio, among other things, according to a news release.

The U.S. News list includes data on more than 79,000 public elementary and middle schools nationwide.

In the analysis, U.S. News looked closely at state assessments of students who were proficient or above-proficient in mathematics and reading/language arts, while also accounting for student backgrounds, achievement in core subjects, and how well schools are educating their students. Student-teacher ratios are applied to break ties in the overall score.

LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News, said the state and district-level rankings are intended to give parents a snapshot of their child’s school and how well it’s doing within its community.

“Easily accessible data on student-teacher ratio, district spending, and the number of school counselors available at the school can keep parents informed and involved,” Jones said.

To be included in district-level rankings, at least two of the top-performing schools must rank in the top 75 percent of the overall elementary or middle school rankings to qualify for district-level recognition.

Here are the individual school rankings, out of 2,294 elementary schools and 1,385 middle schools.

• Long Valley Middle School: 102, overall score 85.45/100
• Old Farmers Road School, 209, overall score 84.25/100
• Benedict A. Cucinella School, 538, overall score 55.94/100
• Flocktown-Kossmann Elementary School, 621, overall score 53.07/100

The Washington Township School District contains four schools and 1,928 students.

The student body at the schools served by Washington Township School District is 79.6 percent White, 2.3 percent Black, 5.1 percent Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander, 10.4 percent Hispanic/Latino, 0.1 percent American Indian or Alaska Native and 0.1 percent Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander. In addition, 2.5 percent of students are two or more races.

In Washington Township School District, 53 percent of elementary students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 37 percent tested at or above that level for math.

Also, 72 percent of middle school students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 36 percent tested at or above that level for math.