Enrollment
352
Middle
DISTRICT 335 · STATE 578
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHESTER TOWNSHIP SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 340306004194
Black River Middle School
133 Rt. 513 - North Road, Chester, NJ 07930 · (908) 879-6363 · Morris County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL352 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 80% of New Jersey public middle schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B+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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
9.9:1
36 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 9.8:1 · STATE 10.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
6%
20 students
DISTRICT 6% · STATE 41%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 123 | 35% |
| Grade 7 | 97 | 28% |
| Grade 8 | 132 | 38% |
Student demographics
45%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 47% · 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
School pathway
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Chester Township School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
NJSLA 2024-25 . % Meeting or Exceeding ExpectationsEnglish Language Arts
75.5%
NJ avg 53.1% . +2.9pp since 2023
Math
66.1%
NJ avg 41.6% . +1.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the NJSLA, New Jersey's statewide test, about 76 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 66 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all New Jersey schools, those numbers are about 53 and 42. Reading and writing scores are up about 3 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 1 points.
NJSLA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 75.5% | 66.1% |
| 2023-24 | 72.6% | 64.7% |
% 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
64.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
63.0%
based on NJ schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.4pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 64% 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 Black River Middle School
Black River Middle School's state test result (64.4% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Black River Middle School this school | 352 | 5.7% | 64.4% |
| Franklin Avenue Middle School Franklin Lakes | 369 | 3.3% | 61.5% |
| Pearl R. Miller Middle School KINNELON | 378 | 4.2% | 64.3% |
| Millstone Township Middle School Millstone Township | 423 | 8.0% | 52.8% |
| Haines Sixth Grade Center MEDFORD | 299 | 7.4% | 64.3% |
| Clinton Township Middle School CLINTON | 405 | 10.9% | 63.1% |
Matched among New Jersey middle 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 Black River Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In New Jersey | In Morris County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 64.4% | #63 of 433 | #8 of 32 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 66.1% | #75 of 437 ▼ 9 | #8 of 32 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 75.5% | #90 of 437 ▼ 2 | #13 of 32 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 352 | #339 of 445 | #22 of 32 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 9.9:1 | #113 of 417 | #14 of 32 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 44.6% | #303 of 419 | #26 of 32 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 5.7% | #387 of 436 | #23 of 32 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -9.0% | #166 of 282 | #13 of 21 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
352
-50 (-12%) vs 2020
+24% since 1990-91, when it was 285
Student : Teacher
9.9:1
was 11.5:1
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 | 352 | 35.6 | 9.9:1 | 6% (20) |
| 2023-24 | 330 | 35.6 | 9.3:1 | 5% (15) |
| 2022-23 | 345 | 35.1 | 9.8:1 | 3% (11) |
| 2020-21 | 402 | 35 | 11.5:1 | 3% (13) |
| 2017-18 | 387 | 39.1 | 9.9:1 | 5% (21) |
| 2015-16 | 458 | 41 | 11.2:1 | 5% (24) |
| 2010-11 | 519 | 30 | 17.3:1 | 4% (22) |
| 2000-01 | 414 | 32 | 12.9:1 | 1% (4) |
| 1990-91 | 285 | 25 | 11.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Black River Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 9% (387 to 352); teachers down 9% (39.1 to 35.6).
About Black River Middle School
Black River Middle School is a small middle school in Chester, New Jersey. Federal data show 352 students enrolled in grades 6 through 8 in 2024-25. Middle schools in New Jersey average about 578 students, which makes this school 39% below average.
Chester Township School District operates 3 schools. Combined enrollment is 1,005 students.
The largest group at Black River Middle School is White students, at 72%. Other students are 15% Hispanic, 8% Asian, and 2% multiracial. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 45%.
On staff are 35.6 full-time-equivalent teachers; the student-to-teacher ratio is 9.9:1. Statewide, middle schools in New Jersey average 10.9:1. Black River Middle School has a free or reduced-price lunch rate of 6%. On average, public schools in Morris County report 19%.
On the allk12 Grade, Black River Middle School lands at A-, ahead of 80% of New Jersey public middle schools.
After adjusting for student poverty, Black River Middle School lands between the top and bottom 10% of New Jersey schools. Its average proficiency rate across its state test results is 64.4%; the prediction is 63.0%.
In Morris County, median household income comes to about $137,326, roughly 58% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 3% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Morris County counts 156 public schools with about 72,239 students.
Dickerson Elementary School is about 0.9 miles away, making it the nearest public school. Black River Middle School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Black River Middle School at 4th of 8.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is Rural: Fringe.
Enrollment in 2024-25 stood at 352, compared with 402 in 2020-21. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio dropped to 9.9:1, from 11.5:1.
On allk12, people connected to Black River Middle School can post about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Morris County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
514,528
Census ACS
Median income
$137,326
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
58%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
3%
Below federal line
Schools in county
156
72,239 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Chester Township School District
- Dickerson Elementary SchoolElementary · 356 students
- Bragg Elementary SchoolElementary · 297 students
Other schools in Chester
- West Morris Central High SchoolHigh · 1,015 students
- Dickerson Elementary SchoolElementary · 356 students
- Bragg Elementary SchoolElementary · 297 students
Nearby schools
- Dickerson Elementary School0.9 mi · 356
- Bragg Elementary School1.0 mi · 297
- Mountain View Elementary School2.6 mi · 565
- West Morris Central High School3.1 mi · 1,015
- Kennedy Elementary School3.5 mi · 277
- Mountain View School3.8 mi · 208
Frequently asked questions
About Black River Middle SchoolHow large is Black River Middle School?
Black River Middle School enrolls approximately 352 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Black River Middle School serve?
Black River Middle School serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Black River Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Black River Middle School is approximately 9.9:1 (36 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Black River Middle School?
At Black River Middle School, the student body is approximately 72% White, 15% Hispanic, 2% Black, 8% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Is Black River Middle School public or private?
Black River Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Chester Township School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.