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Alumni: what's one memory from University Middle School that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
719
Middle
DISTRICT 727 · STATE 578
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·IRVINGTON PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 340768002120
University Middle School
255 MYRTLE AVE, IRVINGTON, NJ 07111 · (973) 399-6879 · Essex County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL719 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 6% 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
12.0:1
60 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.9:1 · STATE 10.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
77%
552 students
DISTRICT 76% · 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 | 262 | 36% |
| Grade 7 | 227 | 32% |
| Grade 8 | 230 | 32% |
Student demographics
48%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 46% · 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
University Middle School→Irvington High School
Based on grade levels within Irvington Public School District. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
NJSLA 2024-25 . % Meeting or Exceeding ExpectationsEnglish Language Arts
20.4%
NJ avg 53.1% . -0.3pp since 2023
Math
7.6%
NJ avg 41.6% . +1.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the NJSLA, New Jersey's statewide test, about 20 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 8 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all New Jersey schools, those numbers are about 53 and 42. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2023, while math scores are up about 1 points.
NJSLA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 20.4% | 7.6% |
| 2023-24 | 20.7% | 6.5% |
% 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
14.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
24.1%
based on NJ schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-9.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 14% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 24% 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 University Middle School
University Middle School's state test result (14.4% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| University Middle School this school | 719 | 76.8% | 14.4% |
| Union Avenue Middle School IRVINGTON | 735 | 79.9% | 23.1% |
| Joyce Kilmer Intermediate School Trenton | 546 | 82.2% | 4.9% |
| James A Cotten Intermediate School Willingboro | 542 | 73.4% | 12.0% |
| Arthur J. Holland Middle School Trenton | 474 | 82.7% | 6.5% |
| Willingboro Memorial Middle School WILLINGBORO | 550 | 70.4% | 16.8% |
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 University Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In New Jersey | In Essex County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 14.4% | #407 of 433 | #24 of 27 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 7.6% | #419 of 437 ▼ 3 | #25 of 28 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 20.4% | #413 of 437 ▼ 10 | #25 of 28 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 719 | #125 of 445 | #7 of 29 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.0:1 | #321 of 417 | #21 of 28 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 48.0% | #272 of 419 | #16 of 28 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 76.8% | #49 of 436 | #4 of 27 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +3.5% | #92 of 122 | #7 of 11 |
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
719
-59 (-8%) vs 2020
+15% since 1990-91, when it was 627
Student : Teacher
12.0:1
was 13.9:1
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 | 719 | 60 | 12.0:1 | 77% (552) |
| 2023-24 | 665 | 51 | 13.0:1 | 70% (463) |
| 2022-23 | 720 | 51 | 14.1:1 | 46% (329) |
| 2020-21 | 778 | 56 | 13.9:1 | 77% (601) |
| 2017-18 | 695 | 53 | 13.1:1 | 88% (612) |
| 2015-16 | 640 | N/A | N/A | 85% (545) |
| 2010-11 | 753 | 58 | 13.0:1 | 67% (501) |
| 2000-01 | 516 | 41 | 12.6:1 | 72% (372) |
| 1990-91 | 627 | 42 | 14.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for University Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students up 3% (695 to 719); teachers up 13% (53 to 60).
About University Middle School
A mid-sized middle school in IRVINGTON, New Jersey, University Middle School is part of Irvington Public School District. It enrolls 719 students in 2024-25. The grades offered are 6 through 8. That puts enrollment 24% larger than the 578-student average for middle schools in New Jersey.
Irvington Public School District has 12 schools; together they serve 7,659 students.
Of every 100 students at University Middle School, about 62 are Black. After that, the student body is 37% Hispanic. Among all residents of Essex County, the Black share is about 36%. The diversity index for University Middle School is 48%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
Teacher count: 60 full-time equivalents. Student-to-teacher ratio: 12.0:1. Across middle schools in New Jersey, the average ratio is 10.9:1. Roughly 77% of students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The 54% average for public schools in Essex County is 23 points lower.
Among New Jersey public middle schools, University Middle School outscored 6%, which works out to a D on the allk12 Grade.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, University Middle School falls in the middle 80% of New Jersey schools: 14.4% actual against 24.1% predicted.
Looking at the county, Essex County, median household income comes to about $80,789, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 39% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 11%. The county has 249 public schools and about 145,473 students.
University Elementary School is the nearest public school to University Middle School, less than a tenth of a mile away. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Of 9 schools in the immediate area with test results, University Middle School ranks 7th on average proficiency.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is Suburb: Large: in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
From 778 students in 2020-21, enrollment decreased to 719 by 2024-25. The school's ratio dropped from 13.9:1 to 12.0:1 between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
The University Middle School discussion page is a place for open houses, carpools, and field trips. You can also rate the school on this page.
Essex County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
863,002
Census ACS
Median income
$80,789
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
249
145,473 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Irvington Public School District
- Irvington High SchoolHigh · 1,913 students
- Union Avenue Middle SchoolMiddle · 735 students
- Florence Avenue Elementary SchoolElementary · 694 students
- Mt. Vernon Avenue Elementary SchoolElementary · 605 students
- Madison AvenueElementary · 524 students
- Berkeley Terrace Elementary SchoolElementary · 464 students
Other schools in IRVINGTON
- Irvington High SchoolHigh · 1,913 students
- Union Avenue Middle SchoolMiddle · 735 students
- Florence Avenue Elementary SchoolElementary · 694 students
- Mt. Vernon Avenue Elementary SchoolElementary · 605 students
- Madison AvenueElementary · 524 students
- Berkeley Terrace Elementary SchoolElementary · 464 students
Other University Middle schools
2 other US public schools in 2 states are named University Middle. University Middle School is the largest of the 3.
- University MiddleMemphis, TN · 268 students
- University Middle SchoolMemphis, TN · 264 students
Nearby schools
- University Elementary School0.0 mi · 384
- Berkeley Terrace Elementary School0.3 mi · 464
- Madison Avenue0.4 mi · 524
- Burch Charter School of Excellence0.4 mi · 335
- Grove Street Elementary School0.4 mi · 443
- South 17th Street School0.6 mi · 368
Frequently asked questions
About University Middle SchoolHow large is University Middle School?
University Middle School enrolls approximately 719 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does University Middle School serve?
University Middle School serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at University Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at University Middle School is approximately 12.0:1 (60 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at University Middle School?
At University Middle School, the student body is approximately 0% White, 37% Hispanic, 62% Black, 0% Asian, 0% Two or more.
What district is University Middle School in?
University Middle School is part of Irvington Public School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.