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Schools›New Jersey›PLAINFIELD
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PLAINFIELD PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 341314005604

Plainfield High School

950 PARK AVENUE, PLAINFIELD, NJ 07060 · (908) 731-4390 · Union County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL2,077 STUDENTS
Enrollment
2,077
High
DISTRICT 834 · STATE 929
Student : Teacher
13.3:1
156 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.9:1 · STATE 12.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
75%
1,566 students
DISTRICT 78% · STATE 41%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.

Enrollment by grade, 2024-25

GradeStudentsShare
Grade 954126%
Grade 1059229%
Grade 1149424%
Grade 1245022%
Student demographics
30%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 30% · STATE 71% · US 70%
White
171%
DISTRICT 1% · STATE 37% · US 43%
Hispanic
1,70882%
DISTRICT 82% · STATE 35% · US 30%
Black
32616%
DISTRICT 16% · STATE 14% · US 15%
Asian
80%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 10% · US 6%
Two+
111%
DISTRICT 1% · STATE 3% · US 5%
Native American
40%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 1%
Pacific Islander
30%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 0%
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
Male
1,13555%
Female
94245%

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Test scores

NJSLA 2024-25 . % Meeting or Exceeding Expectations
English Language Arts
16.5%
NJ avg 53.1% . -5.5pp since 2023
Math
3.5%
NJ avg 41.6% . -0.6pp since 2023

What this means: On the NJSLA, New Jersey's statewide test, about 17 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 4 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all New Jersey schools, those numbers are about 53 and 42. Reading and writing scores are down about 6 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.

NJSLA results by year

School yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2516.5%3.5%
2023-2422.0%4.1%
% 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 · methodology
Tier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of NJ schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
9.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
24.9%
based on NJ schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-15.4pp
below demographic expectation

What this means: About 9% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 25% typical for New Jersey schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.

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 Plainfield High School

Plainfield High School's state test result (9.5% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Plainfield High School this school2,07775.4%9.5%
John E. Dwyer Technology Academy
Elizabeth
1,34882.0%12.6%
Admiral William F. Halsey Jr. Health & Public Safety Academy
Elizabeth
1,27281.4%12.2%
East Side High School
NEWARK
2,04677.2%12.9%
Elizabeth High School - Frank J Cicarell Academy
ELIZABETH
1,26876.8%62.6%
North Plainfield High School
North Plainfield
1,14175.7%24.2%
Matched among New Jersey high 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 Plainfield High School ranks

Among high schools
MeasureThis schoolIn New JerseyIn Union County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
9.5%#375 of 397#31 of 31
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
3.5%#382 of 400
▼ 10
#29 of 31
▼ 2
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
16.5%#363 of 395
▲ 5
#31 of 31
no change
Enrollment
ranked largest first
2,077#30 of 442#2 of 39
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
13.3:1#269 of 388#11 of 31
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
29.9%#358 of 389#31 of 31
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
75.4%#44 of 405#11 of 31
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked fastest growth first
+21.0%#35 of 173#3 of 24
Ranked against other public high 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 2024-25
Enrollment
2,077
+223 (+12%) vs 2020
+32% since 1990-91, when it was 1,571
Student : Teacher
13.3:1
was 14.5:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-252,07715613.3:175% (1,566)
2023-242,14512916.6:178% (1,663)
2022-231,92513014.8:179% (1,512)
2020-211,85412814.5:161% (1,135)
2017-181,716116.514.7:170% (1,207)
2015-161,63411714.0:171% (1,168)
2010-111,39211112.5:165% (901)
2000-011,75512613.9:141% (711)
1990-911,57111214.0:1N/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Plainfield High School.

Since 2017-18: students up 21% (1,716 to 2,077); teachers up 34% (116.5 to 156).

About Plainfield High School

This page covers Plainfield High School, a large high school in PLAINFIELD, New Jersey. It enrolls 2,077 students in 2024-25. The grades offered are 9 through 12. It has 124% more students than the average for high schools in New Jersey (about 929).

Plainfield Public School District has 15 schools and 8,522 students, and Plainfield High School is one of those schools.

Of every 100 students at Plainfield High School, about 82 are Hispanic. The remaining students are 16% Black. Census figures show Union County is about 35% Hispanic. The diversity index for Plainfield High School is 30%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.

Plainfield High School reported 156 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, a ratio of 13.3:1. The 12.7:1 average for high schools in New Jersey is close to this figure. There are 1,566 students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, 75% of enrollment. That rate is above the 52% average among public schools in Union County.

BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate across its state test results with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. Plainfield High School posts 9.5% against a 24.9% prediction, a bottom-10% result in New Jersey.

In the surrounding county, Union County, median household income comes to about $103,202, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 39% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. The county's public schools total 180, with about 99,046 students.

Among nearby public schools, Evergreen Elementary School is closest at about 0.2 miles. Plainfield High School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Plainfield High School is 9th of 9 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.

The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as Suburb: Large, meaning it is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.

From 1,854 students in 2020-21, enrollment rose to 2,077 by 2024-25. From 2020-21 to 2024-25, the ratio dropped from 14.5:1 to 13.3:1.

This page is a place to ask questions and share updates about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at Plainfield High School. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.

Union County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
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

School name
Plainfield High School
District
Plainfield Public School District
Address
950 PARK AVENUE, PLAINFIELD, NJ 07060
Phone
(908) 731-4390
County
Union County
Level
High
Grade range
09–12
Total enrollment
2,077
Teachers (FTE)
156
Student–teacher ratio
13.3:1
Free and reduced lunch
1,566 (75%)
Locale
21-Suburb: Large
NCES ID
341314005604
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Plainfield Public School District
Other schools in PLAINFIELD
Other Plainfield High schools

3 other US public schools in 4 states are named Plainfield High. Plainfield High School is the largest of the 4.

Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Plainfield High School
How large is Plainfield High School?
Plainfield High School enrolls approximately 2,077 students in grades 09-12.
Is Plainfield High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Plainfield High School is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Plainfield High School have?
Plainfield High School employs 156 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.3:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Plainfield High School?
At Plainfield High School, the student body is approximately 1% White, 82% Hispanic, 16% Black, 0% Asian, 1% Two or more.
What district is Plainfield High School in?
Plainfield High School is part of Plainfield Public School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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