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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Weequahic High School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
592
High
DISTRICT 670 · STATE 929
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NEWARK PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 341134002206
Weequahic High School
279 CHANCELLOR AVE, NEWARK, NJ 07112 · (973) 705-3923 · Essex County
GRADES 09–12HIGH11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL592 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.4:1
36 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.4:1 · STATE 12.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
70%
417 students
DISTRICT 80% · 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
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 126 | 21% |
| Grade 10 | 155 | 26% |
| Grade 11 | 161 | 27% |
| Grade 12 | 150 | 25% |
Student demographics
26%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 53% · 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
7.3%
NJ avg 53.1% . -10.7pp since 2023
Math
0.9%
NJ avg 41.6% . -4.5pp since 2023
What this means: On the NJSLA, New Jersey's statewide test, about 7 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 1 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 11 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 5 points.
NJSLA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 7.3% | 0.9% |
| 2023-24 | 18.0% | 5.4% |
% 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of NJ schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
6.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
27.6%
based on NJ schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-21.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 7% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 28% 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 Weequahic High School
Weequahic High School's state test result (6.6% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weequahic High School this school | 592 | 70.4% | 6.6% |
| Willingboro High School WILLINGBORO | 845 | 69.0% | 9.1% |
| West Side High School Newark | 541 | 81.1% | 5.6% |
| University High School NEWARK | 426 | 82.2% | 30.5% |
| Bard Early College High School NEWARK | 395 | 62.5% | 36.5% |
| Henry Snyder High School JERSEY CITY | 729 | 78.1% | 11.0% |
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 Weequahic High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In New Jersey | In Essex County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 6.6% | #384 of 397 | #35 of 39 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 0.9% | #397 of 400 ▼ 34 | #39 of 39 ▼ 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 7.3% | #385 of 395 ▼ 6 | #36 of 39 ▼ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 592 | #297 of 442 | #26 of 42 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.4:1 | #371 of 388 | #33 of 37 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 26.3% | #365 of 389 | #34 of 37 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 70.4% | #63 of 405 | #16 of 40 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +66.3% | #9 of 173 | #3 of 19 |
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 2024-25Enrollment
592
+207 (+54%) vs 2020
-50% since 1990-91, when it was 1,193
Student : Teacher
16.4:1
was 10.4:1
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 | 592 | 36 | 16.4:1 | 70% (417) |
| 2023-24 | 553 | 30 | 18.4:1 | 66% (363) |
| 2022-23 | 454 | 32.5 | 14.0:1 | 79% (358) |
| 2020-21 | 385 | 37 | 10.4:1 | 56% (216) |
| 2017-18 | 356 | 30 | 11.9:1 | 63% (225) |
| 2015-16 | 336 | 33 | 10.2:1 | 67% (225) |
| 2010-11 | 654 | 56 | 11.7:1 | 85% (553) |
| 2000-01 | 972 | 79 | 12.3:1 | 63% (609) |
| 1990-91 | 1,193 | 102 | 11.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Weequahic High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 66% (356 to 592); teachers up 20% (30 to 36).
About Weequahic High School
Weequahic High School sits in NEWARK, New Jersey, and is classified as a high school. The school reports 592 students in grades 9 through 12. The school's enrollment is 36% smaller than the 929 average for high schools in New Jersey.
Federal data list 65 schools in Newark Public School District, with 41,502 students enrolled.
Federal enrollment data show Weequahic High School is 85% Black. Other groups include 12% Hispanic. The county population is about 36% Black. Pick two students at random and there is a 26% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
The count of teachers at Weequahic High School is 36 full-time equivalents, for a ratio of 16.4:1. That is higher than the 12.7:1 average for high schools in New Jersey. The school counts 417 students as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, or 70%. Public schools in Essex County average 54%.
Test results at Weequahic High School are 21.0 points below what its student poverty level predicts. The average proficiency rate on state tests is 6.6%, compared with a predicted 27.6%, which ranks in the bottom 10% in New Jersey.
Essex County has about 863,002 residents, and the median household income is $80,789, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 39% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 11%. In all, Essex County has 249 public schools and roughly 145,473 students.
Of nearby public schools, Eagle Academy for Young Men of Newark is the closest, at less than a tenth of a mile. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Weequahic High School. Its average proficiency rate of 6.6% is below the 16.6% average for nearby schools.
In the federal locale system, Weequahic High School is coded City: Large, for schools inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment records show 385 in 2020-21 and 592 in 2024-25. Because schools sometimes add or drop grades, the two numbers may not be directly comparable. There were more students per teacher in 2024-25 (16.4:1) than in 2020-21 (10.4:1).
Discussions about Weequahic High School may include science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
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 Newark Public School District
- East Side High SchoolHigh · 2,046 students
- Barringer High SchoolHigh · 1,894 students
- Ann Street SchoolElementary · 1,294 students
- Lafayette Street SchoolElementary · 1,213 students
- First Avenue SchoolElementary · 1,084 students
- Early Childhood School - NorthElementary · 1,076 students
Other schools in NEWARK
- North Star Academy Charter SchoolCombined · 6,714 students
- TEAM Academy Charter SchoolCombined · 6,406 students
- Great Oaks Legacy Charter SchoolCombined · 2,169 students
- East Side High SchoolHigh · 2,046 students
- Barringer High SchoolHigh · 1,894 students
- Marion P. Thomas Charter SchoolCombined · 1,410 students
Nearby schools
- Eagle Academy for Young Men of Newark0.0 mi · 155
- Chancellor Avenue School0.1 mi · 607
- NJ Regional Day School - Newark0.2 mi · 123
- Bruce Street School0.3 mi · 34
- George Washington Carver Elementary School0.3 mi · 736
- Ola Edwards Community School0.4 mi · 391
Frequently asked questions
About Weequahic High SchoolHow large is Weequahic High School?
Weequahic High School enrolls approximately 592 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Weequahic High School serve?
Weequahic High School serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at Weequahic High School?
Approximately 16.4:1 students per teacher at Weequahic High School.
How diverse is Weequahic High School?
Weequahic High School reports a student body of 1% White, 12% Hispanic, 85% Black, 1% Two or more.
Is Weequahic High School public or private?
Weequahic High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Newark Public School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.