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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at Joseph E. Soehl Middle School this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
710
Middle
DISTRICT 711 · STATE 578
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LINDEN PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 340861005560
Joseph E. Soehl Middle School
300 East Henry St., Linden, NJ 07036 · (908) 486-0550 · Union County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL710 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 19% of New Jersey public middle schools
- DTest 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.
- ·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
11.7:1
61 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.8:1 · STATE 10.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
75%
534 students
DISTRICT 70% · STATE 41%
Community
1
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 | 232 | 33% |
| Grade 7 | 250 | 35% |
| Grade 8 | 228 | 32% |
Student demographics
63%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 63% · 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
Joseph E. Soehl Middle School→Linden High School
Based on grade levels within Linden Public School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
NJSLA 2024-25 . % Meeting or Exceeding ExpectationsEnglish Language Arts
37.6%
NJ avg 53.1% . +5.5pp since 2023
Math
15.5%
NJ avg 41.6% . +3.3pp since 2023
What this means: On the NJSLA, New Jersey's statewide test, about 38 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 16 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 6 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 3 points.
NJSLA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 37.6% | 15.5% |
| 2023-24 | 32.1% | 12.2% |
% 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
22.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
25.0%
based on NJ schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 22% 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 Joseph E. Soehl Middle School
Joseph E. Soehl Middle School's state test result (22.1% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph E. Soehl Middle School this school | 710 | 75.2% | 22.1% |
| Myles J. McManus MIddle School Linden | 711 | 67.5% | 23.7% |
| Neptune Middle School NEPTUNE | 595 | 71.6% | 27.9% |
| Penns Grove Middle School PENNS GROVE | 452 | 75.4% | 13.3% |
| Dr. Martin Luther King Middle School Trenton | 650 | 75.8% | 6.6% |
| Lakeside Middle School MILLVILLE | 929 | 79.2% | 18.1% |
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 Joseph E. Soehl Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In New Jersey | In Union County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 22.1% | #382 of 433 | #20 of 25 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 15.5% | #384 of 437 ▲ 10 | #20 of 25 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 37.6% | #356 of 437 ▲ 14 | #19 of 25 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 710 | #128 of 445 | #13 of 26 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.7:1 | #308 of 417 | #15 of 25 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 63.2% | #125 of 419 | #7 of 25 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 75.2% | #57 of 436 | #5 of 25 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +10.6% | #48 of 122 | #3 of 12 |
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
710
+25 (+4%) vs 2020
+44% since 1990-91, when it was 492
Student : Teacher
11.7:1
was 10.5:1
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 | 710 | 60.5 | 11.7:1 | 75% (534) |
| 2023-24 | 734 | 57 | 12.9:1 | 69% (504) |
| 2022-23 | 662 | 60 | 11.0:1 | 62% (408) |
| 2020-21 | 685 | 65 | 10.5:1 | 50% (345) |
| 2017-18 | 642 | 59 | 10.9:1 | 67% (427) |
| 2015-16 | 571 | 56 | 10.2:1 | 68% (388) |
| 2010-11 | 734 | 48 | 15.3:1 | 66% (481) |
| 2000-01 | 634 | 40 | 15.8:1 | 57% (364) |
| 1990-91 | 492 | 36 | 13.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Joseph E. Soehl Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students up 11% (642 to 710); teachers up 3% (59 to 60.5).
About Joseph E. Soehl Middle School
Joseph E. Soehl Middle School operates as a medium-sized middle school in Linden, New Jersey. The school reports 710 students in grades 6 through 8. The typical figure for middle schools in New Jersey is about 578 students.
Besides Joseph E. Soehl Middle School, Linden Public School District runs 10 other schools. The district enrolls 6,441 students.
Hispanic students form the largest group at Joseph E. Soehl Middle School, 49% of enrollment. Enrollment also includes 34% Black, 11% White, and 5% multiracial. Among people living in Union County, the Hispanic share is about 35%. The chance that two students picked at random at Joseph E. Soehl Middle School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 63%.
Joseph E. Soehl Middle School operates with 60.5 full-time-equivalent teachers, a ratio of about 11.7:1. That ratio is over the 10.9:1 average for middle schools in New Jersey. Joseph E. Soehl Middle School reports 75% of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Among public schools in Union County, the average eligibility rate is 52%.
Joseph E. Soehl Middle School is graded C- by allk12, scoring above 19% of New Jersey public middle schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
The BeatsExpectations prediction for Joseph E. Soehl Middle School is 25.0%, and its average proficiency rate on state tests is 22.1%.
Union County has these Census figures: median household income is about $103,202, roughly 39% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. The public schools of Union County number 180 and enroll about 99,046.
Number 1 is the closest public school, about 0.3 miles away in a straight line. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. Among the 9 closest schools with test data, this one included, Joseph E. Soehl Middle School ranks 7th on average proficiency.
The school's federal locale classification is Suburb: Large.
Joseph E. Soehl Middle School saw enrollment rise 4% between 2020-21 and 2024-25. By 2024-25, the school had 11.7 students per teacher, compared with 10.5 in 2020-21.
Community posts for Joseph E. Soehl Middle School can cover science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
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 Linden Public School District
- Linden High SchoolHigh · 1,934 students
- Myles J. McManus MIddle SchoolMiddle · 711 students
- Number 2Elementary · 602 students
- Number 1Elementary · 454 students
- Number 4Elementary · 447 students
- Number 8Elementary · 334 students
Other schools in Linden
- Linden High SchoolHigh · 1,934 students
- Myles J. McManus MIddle SchoolMiddle · 711 students
- Number 2Elementary · 602 students
- Number 1Elementary · 454 students
- Number 4Elementary · 447 students
- Number 8Elementary · 334 students
Nearby schools
- Number 10.3 mi · 454
- Number 50.4 mi · 319
- Number 60.6 mi · 320
- Linden High School0.6 mi · 1,934
- Number 80.6 mi · 334
- Grace Wilday Junior High School0.7 mi · 482
Frequently asked questions
About Joseph E. Soehl Middle SchoolHow many students attend Joseph E. Soehl Middle School?
Joseph E. Soehl Middle School enrolls approximately 710 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Joseph E. Soehl Middle School serve?
Joseph E. Soehl Middle School serves grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at Joseph E. Soehl Middle School?
Approximately 11.7:1 students per teacher at Joseph E. Soehl Middle School.
How diverse is Joseph E. Soehl Middle School?
Joseph E. Soehl Middle School reports a student body of 11% White, 49% Hispanic, 34% Black, 1% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Who oversees Joseph E. Soehl Middle School?
Joseph E. Soehl Middle School is overseen by Linden Public School District in Union County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.