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What advice would you give to incoming students at Hillcrest School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
439
Elementary
DISTRICT 491 · STATE 405
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 340549005202
Hillcrest School
500 Franklin Blvd, Somerset, NJ 08873 · (732) 246-0170 · Somerset County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL439 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 14% 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.
- C-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
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
9.3:1
47 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 9.5:1 · STATE 11.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
61%
266 students
DISTRICT 52% · 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 | 29 | 7% |
| Kindergarten | 65 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 59 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 69 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 82 | 19% |
| Grade 4 | 69 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 66 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (65) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (66).
Student demographics
64%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 70% · 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
30.7%
NJ avg 53.1% . +2.0pp since 2023
Math
34.0%
NJ avg 41.6% . +6.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the NJSLA, New Jersey's statewide test, about 31 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 34 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 2 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 7 points.
NJSLA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 30.7% | 34.0% |
| 2023-24 | 28.7% | 27.3% |
% 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
27.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
33.0%
based on NJ schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 27% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 33% 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 Hillcrest School
Hillcrest School's state test result (27.2% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hillcrest School this school | 439 | 60.6% | 27.2% |
| Livingston Park NORTH BRUNSWICK | 494 | 54.5% | 36.8% |
| Berkeley Elementary School Bloomfield | 453 | 68.2% | 26.9% |
| Nathaniel Hawthorne Elementary School TEANECK | 334 | 53.6% | 52.5% |
| Elizabeth Avenue School Somerset | 541 | 52.7% | 38.3% |
| Nellie K. Parker HACKENSACK | 589 | 63.0% | 41.2% |
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 Hillcrest School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In New Jersey | In Somerset County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 27.2% | #1,018 of 1,290 | #40 of 42 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 34.0% | #899 of 1,319 ▲ 81 | #38 of 42 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 30.7% | #1,092 of 1,319 ▼ 9 | #39 of 42 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 439 | #572 of 1,562 | #17 of 46 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 9.3:1 | #177 of 1,390 | #16 of 45 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 64.2% | #349 of 1,392 | #23 of 45 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 60.6% | #452 of 1,481 | #8 of 45 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +6.8% | #329 of 545 | #7 of 13 |
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
439
-5 (-1%) vs 2020
-6% since 1990-91, when it was 465
Student : Teacher
9.3:1
was 10.1:1
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 | 439 | 47.4 | 9.3:1 | 61% (266) |
| 2023-24 | 452 | 44.4 | 10.2:1 | 54% (243) |
| 2022-23 | 476 | 44.5 | 10.7:1 | 51% (244) |
| 2020-21 | 444 | 44 | 10.1:1 | 50% (221) |
| 2017-18 | 411 | 42.7 | 9.6:1 | 52% (214) |
| 2015-16 | 423 | 42 | 10.1:1 | 48% (203) |
| 2010-11 | 499 | 37 | 13.5:1 | 44% (219) |
| 2000-01 | 543 | 41 | 13.2:1 | 30% (165) |
| 1990-91 | 465 | 34 | 13.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Hillcrest School.
Since 2017-18: students up 7% (411 to 439); teachers up 11% (42.7 to 47.4).
About Hillcrest School
Hillcrest School is a medium-sized elementary school in Somerset, New Jersey. The school counts 439 students across pre-K through 5.
Franklin Township Public School District (10 schools, 6,950 students) runs Hillcrest School.
Roughly 53% of students at Hillcrest School are Hispanic. Other groups include 23% Black, 12% Asian, 8% White, and 3% multiracial. By comparison, Somerset County residents are about 18% Hispanic. Hillcrest School's diversity index is 64%, against a US figure of 70%.
The school's student-to-teacher ratio is about 9.3:1, with 47.4 full-time-equivalent teachers. That is 2.2 students per teacher below the 11.4:1 average for elementary schools in New Jersey. Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch make up 61% of enrollment. For comparison, public schools in Somerset County average 28%.
Hillcrest School is graded D by allk12, scoring above 14% of New Jersey public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Hillcrest School's average proficiency rate on state tests of 27.2% is 5.8 points below the 33.0% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
County data help place the school in context: in Somerset County, the median household income is $140,374, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 58%, and about 4% of people live in poverty. In all, Somerset County has 84 public schools and roughly 51,276 students.
The school nearest to Hillcrest School is Franklin Middle School at Hamilton Street Campus, at a distance of about 0.3 miles. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. On average proficiency, Hillcrest School is 4th of 8 nearby schools with test data.
The school's locale code, Suburb: Large, means it is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment at Hillcrest School was 444 in 2020-21 and 439 in 2024-25, a change of less than 3%.
Conversations here can range across school safety, transportation, and start times. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Somerset County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
349,846
Census ACS
Median income
$140,374
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
58%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
84
51,276 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Franklin Township Public School District
- Franklin High SchoolHigh · 2,134 students
- Franklin Middle School at Sampson G. Smith CampusMiddle · 787 students
- Claremont Elementary SchoolElementary · 685 students
- Franklin Park SchoolElementary · 671 students
- Franklin Middle School at Hamilton Street CampusMiddle · 592 students
- Elizabeth Avenue SchoolElementary · 541 students
Other schools in Somerset
- Franklin High SchoolHigh · 2,134 students
- Central Jersey College Prep Charter SchoolCombined · 1,396 students
- Franklin Middle School at Sampson G. Smith CampusMiddle · 787 students
- Thomas Edison EnergySmart Charter SchoolCombined · 613 students
- Franklin Middle School at Hamilton Street CampusMiddle · 592 students
- Elizabeth Avenue SchoolElementary · 541 students
Other Hillcrest schools
8 other US public schools in 7 states are named Hillcrest. Hillcrest School is the 3rd largest of the 9.
- Hillcrest SchoolMORRISTOWN, NJ · 251 students
- Hillcrest SchoolLOGAN, UT · 521 students
- HILLCREST SCHOOLPEEKSKILL, NY · 520 students
- Hillcrest SchoolButte, MT · 412 students
- HillcrestOakland, CA · 393 students
Nearby schools
- Franklin Middle School at Hamilton Street Campus0.3 mi · 592
- Pine Grove Manor School0.7 mi · 346
- New Brunswick High School0.8 mi · 2,443
- MacAfee Road School0.9 mi · 405
- Mckinley Community School1.0 mi · 524
- Conerly Road School1.0 mi · 350
Frequently asked questions
About Hillcrest SchoolHow large is Hillcrest School?
Hillcrest School enrolls approximately 439 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Hillcrest School serve?
Hillcrest School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many teachers does Hillcrest School have?
Hillcrest School employs 47 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 9.3:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Hillcrest School?
At Hillcrest School, the student body is approximately 8% White, 53% Hispanic, 23% Black, 12% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Hillcrest School?
Hillcrest School is overseen by Franklin Township Public School District in Somerset County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.