Enrollment
242
High
DISTRICT 217 · STATE 929
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·UNION COUNTY VOCATIONAL-TECHNICAL SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 341804003009
Academy For Performing Arts
1776 RARITAN ROAD, SCOTCH PLAINS, NJ 07076 · (908) 889-8288 · Union County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBCAREER AND TECHNICAL SCHOOL242 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 87% of New Jersey public high schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded New Jersey public high schools
Student : Teacher
16.1:1
15 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.9:1 · STATE 12.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
5%
12 students
DISTRICT 15% · STATE 41%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 61 | 25% |
| Grade 10 | 66 | 27% |
| Grade 11 | 55 | 23% |
| Grade 12 | 60 | 25% |
Student demographics
68%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 74% · STATE 71% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
NJSLA 2024-25 . % Meeting or Exceeding ExpectationsEnglish Language Arts
95.0%
NJ avg 53.1% . -0.6pp since 2023
Math
60.0%
NJ avg 41.6% . +9.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the NJSLA, New Jersey's statewide test, about 95 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 60 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all New Jersey schools, those numbers are about 53 and 42. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2023, while math scores are up about 9 points.
NJSLA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 95.0% | 60.0% |
| 2023-24 | 95.6% | 50.8% |
% Meeting or Exceeding Expectations, all students and all tested grades.
Source: NJSLA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
68.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
63.5%
based on NJ schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+4.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 68% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 63% typical for New Jersey schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among New Jersey's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Academy For Performing Arts
Academy For Performing Arts's state test result (68.3% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy For Performing Arts this school | 242 | 5.0% | 68.3% |
| Union County Tech SCOTCH PLAINS | 502 | 10.2% | 75.3% |
| Midland Park Jr./Sr. High School MIDLAND PARK | 367 | 7.6% | 58.3% |
| Waldwick High School WALDWICK | 434 | 1.8% | 63.1% |
| Emerson Jr Sr High Emerson | 440 | 14.3% | 47.4% |
| Communications High School WALL | 295 | 2.4% | 90.1% |
Matched among New Jersey high schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Academy For Performing Arts ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In New Jersey | In Union County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 68.3% | #40 of 397 | #6 of 31 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 60.0% | #61 of 400 ▲ 38 | #9 of 31 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 95.0% | #17 of 395 ▲ 2 | #6 of 31 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 242 | #387 of 442 | #31 of 39 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.1:1 | #368 of 388 | #24 of 31 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 67.7% | #59 of 389 | #6 of 31 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 5.0% | #362 of 405 | #27 of 31 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +8.0% | #94 of 173 | #13 of 24 |
Ranked against other public high schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
242
+16 (+7%) vs 2020
+69% since 2010-11, when it was 143
Student : Teacher
16.1:1
was 20.6:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 242 | 15.1 | 16.1:1 | 5% (12) |
| 2023-24 | 240 | 14.7 | 16.4:1 | 6% (14) |
| 2022-23 | 231 | 12.7 | 18.2:1 | 5% (11) |
| 2020-21 | 226 | 11 | 20.6:1 | 7% (16) |
| 2017-18 | 224 | 13.9 | 16.1:1 | 13% (28) |
| 2015-16 | 190 | 15 | 12.7:1 | 7% (14) |
| 2010-11 | 143 | 13 | 11.0:1 | 13% (19) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Academy For Performing Arts.
Since 2017-18: students up 8% (224 to 242); teachers up 9% (13.9 to 15.1).
About Academy For Performing Arts
Academy For Performing Arts is a high school in SCOTCH PLAINS, New Jersey, according to federal school records. The grade span is 9 through 12, and enrollment is 242 students. An average school in this group (high schools in New Jersey) has about 929 students.
Enrollment across the 8 schools in Union County Vocational-Technical School District totals 1,737 students.
Academy For Performing Arts has no majority group; White students are the largest, at 43%. Beyond that, enrollment is 30% Hispanic, 15% Black, 4% Asian, and 3% multiracial. The White share in Union County as a whole is similar, at about 39%. Academy For Performing Arts's diversity index is 68%, against a US figure of 70%.
Teacher staffing is 15.1 full-time equivalents, or about 16.1 students per teacher. On average, high schools in New Jersey have 12.7:1, compared with 16.1:1 here. About 5% of students, or 12, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Union County is 52%.
Academy For Performing Arts is graded A by allk12, scoring above 87% of New Jersey public high schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Academy For Performing Arts falls in the middle 80% of New Jersey schools: 68.3% actual against 63.5% predicted.
Federal survey data for Union County show that the median household income is $103,202, about 39% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 7% of residents are in poverty. Union County is home to 180 public schools and about 99,046 public school students.
Nearest public school: Academy For Information Technology, less than a tenth of a mile away. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Academy For Performing Arts ranks 6th of 9 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 68.3% against a local average of 75.8%.
Its location is classified as Suburb: Large by the National Center for Education Statistics.
2024-25 enrollment was 242, a 7% increase from 226 in 2020-21. The number of students per teacher fell from 20.6 to 16.1 over 4 years.
To ask about science fairs, picture day, and bus routes, start a discussion on this page. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Union County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
579,290
Census ACS
Median income
$103,202
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
180
99,046 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Union County Vocational-Technical School District
- Union County TechHigh · 502 students
- Academy For Allied Health SciencesHigh · 308 students
- Academy For Information TechnologyHigh · 307 students
- Union County Magnet High SchoolHigh · 297 students
- Union County Career & Technical InstituteHigh · 67 students
- Raymond J. Lesniak Experience Strength & Hope Recovery HSHigh · 10 students
Other schools in SCOTCH PLAINS
- Scotch Plains-Fanwood High SchoolHigh · 1,562 students
- Malcolm E Nettingham Middle SchoolMiddle · 913 students
- Terrill Middle SchoolMiddle · 822 students
- William J. McGinn Elementary SchoolElementary · 543 students
- J. Ackerman Coles Elementary SchoolElementary · 526 students
- Union County TechHigh · 502 students
Other Academy For Performing Arts schools
One other US public school is named Academy For Performing Arts. Academy For Performing Arts is the largest of the 2.
- Academy for Performing ArtsRockaway, NJ · 144 students
Nearby schools
- Academy For Information Technology0.0 mi · 307
- Union County Career & Technical Institute0.0 mi · 67
- Union County Magnet High School0.0 mi · 297
- Academy For Allied Health Sciences0.0 mi · 308
- Union County Tech0.0 mi · 502
- Terrill Middle School1.2 mi · 822
Frequently asked questions
About Academy For Performing ArtsWhat is the total enrollment at Academy For Performing Arts?
Academy For Performing Arts enrolls approximately 242 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Academy For Performing Arts serve?
Academy For Performing Arts serves grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Academy For Performing Arts have?
Academy For Performing Arts employs 15 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.1:1.
What is the student diversity at Academy For Performing Arts?
Student demographics at Academy For Performing Arts are roughly 43% White, 30% Hispanic, 15% Black, 4% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Academy For Performing Arts?
Academy For Performing Arts is overseen by Union County Vocational-Technical School District in Union County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.