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What tradition at J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School should never be changed?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
526
Elementary
DISTRICT 475 · STATE 405
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SCOTCH PLAINS-FANWOOD SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 341467005686
J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School
16 KEVIN ROAD, SCOTCH PLAINS, NJ 07076 · (908) 757-7555 · Union County
GRADES PK–04ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL526 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 91% of New Jersey public elementary 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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
11.9:1
44 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.4:1 · STATE 11.4:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
3%
18 students
DISTRICT 4% · 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 | 39 | 7% |
| Kindergarten | 81 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 108 | 21% |
| Grade 2 | 92 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 105 | 20% |
| Grade 4 | 101 | 19% |
This year's kindergarten class (81) is 20% smaller than its 4th grade class (101).
Student demographics
57%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 59% · 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
76.8%
NJ avg 53.1% . +6.9pp since 2023
Math
78.8%
NJ avg 41.6% . +2.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the NJSLA, New Jersey's statewide test, about 77 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 79 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 2 points.
NJSLA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 76.8% | 78.8% |
| 2023-24 | 69.9% | 76.4% |
% 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
75.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
64.3%
based on NJ schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+11.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 75% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 64% 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 J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School
J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School's state test result (75.4% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School this school | 526 | 3.4% | 75.4% |
| William J. McGinn Elementary School SCOTCH PLAINS | 543 | 1.1% | 73.7% |
| Lester C Noecker ROSELAND | 451 | 6.4% | 73.8% |
| Evergreen Elementary School SCOTCH PLAINS | 449 | 2.2% | 59.3% |
| Howard B. Brunner Elementary School SCOTCH PLAINS | 434 | 4.4% | 76.2% |
| Ridge Elementary School RIDGEWOOD | 448 | 1.6% | 76.4% |
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 J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In New Jersey | In Union County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 75.4% | #78 of 1,290 | #9 of 92 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 78.8% | #102 of 1,319 ▲ 7 | #9 of 93 ▲ 3 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 76.8% | #137 of 1,319 ▲ 111 | #10 of 93 ▲ 10 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 526 | #347 of 1,562 | #37 of 108 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.9:1 | #877 of 1,390 | #42 of 103 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 57.1% | #617 of 1,392 | #44 of 103 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 3.4% | #1,382 of 1,481 | #87 of 105 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -2.6% | #716 of 798 | #47 of 58 |
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
526
+37 (+8%) vs 2020
+42% since 1990-91, when it was 371
Student : Teacher
11.9:1
was 12.9:1
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 | 526 | 44 | 11.9:1 | 3% (18) |
| 2023-24 | 548 | 40 | 13.7:1 | 3% (14) |
| 2022-23 | 535 | 39.4 | 13.6:1 | 1% (8) |
| 2020-21 | 489 | 38 | 12.9:1 | 2% (8) |
| 2017-18 | 540 | 38.2 | 14.1:1 | 3% (14) |
| 2015-16 | 472 | 32 | 14.8:1 | 5% (25) |
| 2010-11 | 534 | 33 | 16.2:1 | 3% (16) |
| 2000-01 | 571 | 32 | 17.8:1 | 4% (21) |
| 1990-91 | 371 | 21 | 17.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 3% (540 to 526); teachers up 15% (38.2 to 44).
About J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School
J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school with its address in SCOTCH PLAINS, New Jersey. The grade span is pre-K through 4, and enrollment is 526 students. An average school in this group (elementary schools in New Jersey) has about 405 students.
J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School is a school in Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District. The district has 8 schools and 5,673 students.
J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School's enrollment is 63% White. The remaining shares are 13% Asian, 12% Hispanic, 6% multiracial, and 6% Black. Census estimates put the White share of Union County's population at about 39%. J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School has a diversity index of 57%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
The school reports 44 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to about 11.9 students per teacher. Elementary schools in New Jersey have a similar average ratio of 11.4:1. The free or reduced-price lunch share, often used to gauge student poverty, is 3%. The average for public schools in Union County is 52%.
The allk12 Grade for J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School is A. Compared with New Jersey public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 91% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School is 11.1 points above its prediction. Actual: 75.4%. Predicted: 64.3%.
According to the American Community Survey, in Union County, median household income is about $103,202, 39% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. A total of 180 public schools operate in Union County, serving about 99,046 students.
Terrill Middle School is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.3 miles away. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School ranks 2nd of 9 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 75.4% against a local average of 51.7%.
Its NCES locale code is Suburb: Large: the school is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment was 489 in 2020-21 and 526 in 2024-25, a increase of 37 students.
Threads on this page can be about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
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 Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District
- 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
- Evergreen Elementary SchoolElementary · 449 students
- Howard B. Brunner Elementary SchoolElementary · 434 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
- Union County TechHigh · 502 students
- Evergreen Elementary SchoolElementary · 449 students
Nearby schools
- Terrill Middle School0.3 mi · 822
- Frederic W. Cook Elementary School0.8 mi · 198
- William J. McGinn Elementary School1.1 mi · 543
- Charles and Anna Booker Elementary School1.2 mi · 816
- Maxson Middle School1.2 mi · 721
- College Achieve Central Charter School1.3 mi · 1,572
Frequently asked questions
About J. Ackerman Coles Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School?
J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School enrolls approximately 526 students in grades PK-04.
Is J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-04.
How many students per teacher at J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School?
Approximately 11.9:1 students per teacher at J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School.
How diverse is J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School?
J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School reports a student body of 63% White, 12% Hispanic, 6% Black, 13% Asian, 6% Two or more.
What district is J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School in?
J. Ackerman Coles Elementary School is part of Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.