Two EPS Schools Among NJ’s Top 120 in  US News Middle School Rankings
Reilly, Halloran also rank among top 200 elementary schools in New Jersey

Elizabeth, N.J., November 21, 2023 – Terence C. Reilly School No. 7 and William F. Halloran School No. 22 ranked among the top 120 middle schools in New Jersey as part of the 2024 U.S. News & World Report Best Elementary and Middle School rankings.

Reilly School No. 7 was rated No. 108 while Halloran School No. 22 was rated No. 114 among 1,385 middle schools in New Jersey that received a ranking, placing both schools within the top 9% at the middle school level in the state.

“For many years, Terence C. Reilly School No. 7 and William F. Halloran School No. 22 have consistently performed among the best middle and elementary grade level schools within the state of New Jersey and have been recognized on both the state and national stage for their excellent levels of student performance,” said Elizabeth Public Schools Superintendent Olga Hugelmeyer.

For each state, schools were assessed on their shares of students who were proficient or above proficient in their mathematics and reading/language arts state assessments. The schools were ranked based on a formula that includes mathematics and reading proficiency, accounting for the assessment scores themselves, and mathematics and reading performance, accounting for how students’ subject proficiencies compared with U.S. News’ modeled expectations. Both categories were weighted evenly at 50% with each subject accounting for 25% within the proficiency and performance indicators.

Based on U.S. News’ analysis, low-income students, defined as those eligible for free and reduced price lunch, and students from historically underserved ethnicities, including Latino/Hispanic, Black/African American, and American Indian/Alaska Native, tend to score lower than other students on state assessments. Schools that exceeded prediction models based on this analysis performed better in the rankings in relation to the extent to which they surpassed expectations.

Schools U.S. News categorized as being exclusively elementary or middle were assessed on all their test-takers. Most elementary schools were pre-K through fifth grade or pre-K through sixth grade, while most middle schools had sixth through eighth or seventh and eighth grades. Schools with wider grade spans like School No. 7, a pre-K and second through eighth grade school, and School No. 22, a pre-K through eighth grade school, were assessed only on tests taken in third through fifth grades for elementary and sixth through eighth grades for middle, weighted by the number of test-takers per grade.

School No. 22 and School No. 7 also placed in the top 200 and performed among the top 9% of 2,294 New Jersey elementary schools that were ranked, receiving ranks of No. 177 and No. 195 respectively.

School No. 7 and School No. 22 were ranked among
the top 9% of elementary and middle schools
in the State of New Jersey.

“Congratulations to both the Terence C. Reilly School No. 7 and William F. Halloran School No. 22 school communities for being recognized among the best elementary and middle schools in the State of New Jersey,” said Elizabeth Board of Education President Iliana Chevres. “Your dedication to teaching and learning and to upholding the standard of excellence has been rewarded and validated.”

The 2024 U.S. News & World Report Best Elementary and Middle School rankings, including the lists of New Jersey’s top elementary and middle schools, can be found at:

Elementary Schools: https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/elementary-school
Middle Schools: https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/middle-school