1
If you could change one rule at Somerset School, what would it be?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
485
Middle
DISTRICT 512 · STATE 578
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NORTH PLAINFIELD SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 341164005262
Somerset School
303 Somerset Street, North Plainfield, NJ 07060 · (908) 769-6080 · Somerset County
GRADES 05–06MIDDLE21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL485 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 17% 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
9.4:1
51 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 9.9:1 · STATE 10.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
82%
398 students
DISTRICT 80% · 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 5 | 228 | 47% |
| Grade 6 | 257 | 53% |
Student demographics
41%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 42% · 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 North Plainfield School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
NJSLA 2024-25 . % Meeting or Exceeding ExpectationsEnglish Language Arts
30.0%
NJ avg 53.1% . +4.8pp since 2023
Math
19.1%
NJ avg 41.6% . +6.3pp since 2023
What this means: On the NJSLA, New Jersey's statewide test, about 30 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 19 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 5 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 6 points.
NJSLA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 30.0% | 19.1% |
| 2023-24 | 25.2% | 12.8% |
% 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
18.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
21.3%
based on NJ schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 19% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 21% 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 Somerset School
Somerset School's state test result (18.5% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somerset School this school | 485 | 82.1% | 18.5% |
| North Plainfield Middle School North Plainfield | 538 | 78.6% | 21.7% |
| Smalley Elementary School Bound Brook | 424 | 81.6% | 21.9% |
| Clara Parker Intermediate School Trenton | 583 | 88.2% | 9.2% |
| Grant Intermediate School TRENTON | 610 | 87.2% | 5.4% |
| Freehold Intermediate School FREEHOLD | 498 | 80.5% | 28.5% |
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 Somerset School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In New Jersey | In Somerset County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 18.5% | #395 of 433 | #20 of 21 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 19.1% | #367 of 437 ▲ 24 | #18 of 21 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 30.0% | #392 of 437 ▲ 4 | #20 of 21 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 485 | #261 of 445 | #14 of 21 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 9.4:1 | #84 of 417 | #9 of 21 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 40.6% | #332 of 419 | #19 of 21 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 82.1% | #24 of 436 | #2 of 21 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -7.1% | #187 of 282 | #13 of 17 |
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
485
+37 (+8%) vs 2020
+189% since 1990-91, when it was 168
Student : Teacher
9.4:1
was 8.4:1
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 | 485 | 51.3 | 9.4:1 | 82% (398) |
| 2023-24 | 499 | 52.5 | 9.5:1 | 77% (383) |
| 2022-23 | 530 | 53 | 10.0:1 | 73% (385) |
| 2020-21 | 448 | 53 | 8.4:1 | 67% (299) |
| 2017-18 | 522 | 52 | 10.0:1 | 72% (375) |
| 2015-16 | 513 | 52 | 9.9:1 | 68% (347) |
| 2010-11 | 463 | 30 | 15.4:1 | 58% (270) |
| 2000-01 | 245 | 22 | 11.1:1 | 38% (93) |
| 1990-91 | 168 | 11 | 15.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Somerset School.
Since 2017-18: students down 7% (522 to 485); teachers down 1% (52 to 51.3).
About Somerset School
Somerset School is a low-enrollment middle-grades school with an address in North Plainfield, New Jersey. It reported 485 students in grades 5 through 6 in 2024-25.
North Plainfield School District, which runs Somerset School, has 6 schools and 3,487 students.
The largest group at Somerset School is Hispanic students, at 75%. Other groups make up 16% Black and 5% White. County-wide, 18% of Somerset County residents are Hispanic. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 41%.
The school's 51.3 full-time-equivalent teachers translate to a student-to-teacher ratio of 9.4:1. Middle schools in New Jersey average 10.9:1, 1.5 more students per teacher than here. Income data for the school show 82% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Public schools in Somerset County average 28%.
Among New Jersey public middle schools, Somerset School outscored 17%, which works out to a C- on the allk12 Grade.
The school's average proficiency rate across its state test results is 18.5%. For its free or reduced-price lunch share, the predicted value is 21.3%.
American Community Survey estimates for Somerset County show that the median household earns about $140,374 a year, about 58% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 4%. Across Somerset County, 84 public schools serve about 51,276 students.
The closest school to Somerset School is The Barack Obama Green Charter School, located about 0.3 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. In a group of 9 nearby schools with scores, Somerset School ranks 7th on average proficiency.
In the federal locale system, Somerset School is coded Suburb: Large, for schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Over 4 years, enrollment increased by 37 students, from 448 to 485. In 2020-21, the student-to-teacher ratio was 8.4:1; by 2024-25 it was 9.4:1.
Use the discussion section to ask about special education services, counseling, and support programs at Somerset School. You can also rate the school on this page.
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 North Plainfield School District
- North Plainfield High SchoolHigh · 1,141 students
- West End SchoolElementary · 600 students
- North Plainfield Middle SchoolMiddle · 538 students
- East End SchoolElementary · 451 students
- Stony Brook SchoolElementary · 272 students
Other schools in North Plainfield
- North Plainfield High SchoolHigh · 1,141 students
- West End SchoolElementary · 600 students
- North Plainfield Middle SchoolMiddle · 538 students
- East End SchoolElementary · 451 students
- Stony Brook SchoolElementary · 272 students
Nearby schools
- The Barack Obama Green Charter School0.3 mi · 358
- Stony Brook School0.5 mi · 272
- North Plainfield Middle School0.5 mi · 538
- Charles H. Stillman Elementary School0.6 mi · 317
- North Plainfield High School0.6 mi · 1,141
- Union County TEAMS Charter School0.7 mi · 304
Frequently asked questions
About Somerset SchoolHow many students attend Somerset School?
Somerset School enrolls approximately 485 students in grades 05-06.
Is Somerset School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Somerset School is a middle school covering grades 05-06.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Somerset School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Somerset School is approximately 9.4:1 (51 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Somerset School?
Student demographics at Somerset School are roughly 5% White, 75% Hispanic, 16% Black, 2% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Who oversees Somerset School?
Somerset School is overseen by North Plainfield School District in Somerset County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.