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Best kept secret at Columbus Elementary School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
642
Elementary
DISTRICT 536 · STATE 405
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CARTERET PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 340282003272
Columbus Elementary School
1 CARTERET AVENUE, CARTERET, NJ 07008 · (732) 541-8960 · Middlesex County
GRADES PK–04ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL642 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 31% of New Jersey public elementary schools
- C-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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
11.3:1
57 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.3:1 · STATE 11.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
75%
484 students
DISTRICT 77% · STATE 41%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 116 | 18% |
| Kindergarten | 107 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 125 | 19% |
| Grade 2 | 98 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 92 | 14% |
| Grade 4 | 104 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (107) is about the same size as its 4th grade class (104).
Student demographics
67%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 67% · 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
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within Carteret Public School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
NJSLA 2024-25 . % Meeting or Exceeding ExpectationsEnglish Language Arts
32.9%
NJ avg 53.1% . +7.1pp since 2023
Math
27.5%
NJ avg 41.6% . +4.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the NJSLA, New Jersey's statewide test, about 33 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 28 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 7 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 4 points.
NJSLA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 32.9% | 27.5% |
| 2023-24 | 25.8% | 23.5% |
% 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
27.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
24.9%
based on NJ schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+2.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 27% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 25% 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 Columbus Elementary School
Columbus Elementary School's state test result (27.5% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus Elementary School this school | 642 | 75.4% | 27.5% |
| Parsons NORTH BRUNSWICK | 566 | 70.5% | 25.7% |
| Pennsauken Intermediate School PENNSAUKEN | 622 | 78.6% | 23.2% |
| School 28 PATERSON | 463 | 73.2% | 89.9% |
| Clayton J. Davenport Elementary School EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP | 677 | 70.8% | 25.6% |
| Alexander D. Sullivan School JERSEY CITY | 638 | 81.3% | 15.3% |
Matched among New Jersey elementary 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 Columbus Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In New Jersey | In Middlesex County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 27.5% | #1,013 of 1,290 | #92 of 111 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 27.5% | #1,020 of 1,319 ▲ 15 | #94 of 111 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 32.9% | #1,061 of 1,319 ▲ 73 | #92 of 111 ▲ 10 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 642 | #165 of 1,562 | #15 of 130 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.3:1 | #696 of 1,390 | #61 of 120 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 66.7% | #263 of 1,392 | #55 of 121 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 75.4% | #278 of 1,481 | #17 of 128 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -11.2% | #381 of 798 | #54 of 84 |
Ranked against other public elementary 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
642
-62 (-9%) vs 2020
+37% since 1990-91, when it was 467
Student : Teacher
11.3:1
was 12.3:1
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 | 642 | 56.8 | 11.3:1 | 75% (484) |
| 2023-24 | 625 | 54.7 | 11.4:1 | 73% (454) |
| 2022-23 | 578 | 54.4 | 10.6:1 | 69% (398) |
| 2020-21 | 704 | 57 | 12.3:1 | 61% (430) |
| 2017-18 | 723 | 51.9 | 13.9:1 | 72% (522) |
| 2015-16 | 669 | 49 | 13.7:1 | 73% (488) |
| 2010-11 | 661 | 44 | 15.0:1 | 68% (450) |
| 2000-01 | 864 | 48 | 18.0:1 | 52% (446) |
| 1990-91 | 467 | 30 | 15.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Columbus Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 11% (723 to 642); teachers up 9% (51.9 to 56.8).
About Columbus Elementary School
Students in CARTERET, New Jersey, attend Columbus Elementary School, a large elementary school. The grade span is pre-K through 4, and enrollment is 642 students. An average school in this group (elementary schools in New Jersey) has about 405 students.
Carteret Public School District oversees Columbus Elementary School and 5 other schools, with 3,903 students in total.
Federal enrollment data show Hispanic students as the largest group at Columbus Elementary School, at 50%. Other groups include 24% Black, 16% Asian, 7% White, and 3% multiracial. By comparison, Middlesex County residents are about 24% Hispanic. Pick two students at random and there is a 67% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Federal records show a student-to-teacher ratio of 11.3:1 at Columbus Elementary School, with 56.8 full-time-equivalent teachers. That matches the 11.4:1 average for elementary schools in New Jersey fairly closely. Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, a common measure of family income, is 75%. Among public schools in Middlesex County, the average eligibility rate is 42%.
allk12 grades Columbus Elementary School a C. The grade compares the school only with New Jersey public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
Columbus Elementary School's average proficiency rate on state tests of 27.5% is 2.6 points above the 24.9% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
In Middlesex County (population about 871,290), the median household income is $111,549, roughly 46% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 6%. There are 214 public schools in Middlesex County, enrolling about 129,255 students in all.
Of nearby public schools, Carteret Junior High School is the closest, at about 0.5 miles. Columbus Elementary School has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Among 9 nearby schools that report test results, Columbus Elementary School ranks 8th on proficiency.
NCES describes the area around Columbus Elementary School as Suburb: Large, meaning in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Compared with 2020-21, the school had 62 fewer students in 2024-25. There were fewer students per teacher in 2024-25 (11.3:1) than in 2020-21 (12.3:1).
The discussion area below is open to posts about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Middlesex County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
871,290
Census ACS
Median income
$111,549
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
46%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
214
129,255 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Carteret Public School District
- Carteret High SchoolHigh · 1,188 students
- Carteret Junior High SchoolMiddle · 568 students
- Carteret Middle SchoolMiddle · 540 students
- Private Nicholas Minue Elementary SchoolElementary · 529 students
- Nathan Hale Elementary SchoolElementary · 436 students
Other schools in CARTERET
- Carteret High SchoolHigh · 1,188 students
- Carteret Junior High SchoolMiddle · 568 students
- Carteret Middle SchoolMiddle · 540 students
- Private Nicholas Minue Elementary SchoolElementary · 529 students
- Nathan Hale Elementary SchoolElementary · 436 students
Other Columbus Elementary schools
11 other US public schools in 10 states are named Columbus Elementary. Columbus Elementary School is the 3rd largest of the 12.
- Columbus Elementary SchoolCOLUMBUS, TX · 798 students
- COLUMBUS ELEMENTARY SCHOOLNEW ROCHELLE, NY · 728 students
- Columbus ElementaryGlendale, CA · 488 students
- COLUMBUS ELEMENTARYCOLUMBUS, NM · 483 students
- COLUMBUS ELEMENTARY SCHOOLTHORNWOOD, NY · 481 students
Nearby schools
- Carteret Junior High School0.5 mi · 568
- Carteret High School0.5 mi · 1,188
- Carteret Middle School0.8 mi · 540
- Nathan Hale Elementary School0.8 mi · 436
- Port Reading Avenue Elementary School1.0 mi · 385
- Private Nicholas Minue Elementary School1.9 mi · 529
Frequently asked questions
About Columbus Elementary SchoolHow large is Columbus Elementary School?
Columbus Elementary School enrolls approximately 642 students in grades PK-04.
Is Columbus Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Columbus Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-04.
How many students per teacher at Columbus Elementary School?
Approximately 11.3:1 students per teacher at Columbus Elementary School.
How diverse is Columbus Elementary School?
Columbus Elementary School reports a student body of 7% White, 50% Hispanic, 24% Black, 16% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Columbus Elementary School?
Columbus Elementary School is overseen by Carteret Public School District in Middlesex County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.