Alternative High School
Public high school, grades 9 to 12 · Paterson, New Jersey
Alternative High School in Paterson, New Jersey enrolled 81 students in 2024-25 with 21.0 full-time teachers, 3.9 students per teacher against the New Jersey high-school median of 12.1. It ran a schoolwide Title I program in 2021-22; every student eats free under the Community Eligibility Provision (2024-25). On the state tests, under 50% of its students tested were proficient in reading in 2021-22 and 20% or less proficient in math in 2022-23 (New Jersey: 48.6% and 37.6%).
NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 · Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22 · Title I status CCD 2021-22 · method
Enrollment fell 35% from 2022-23 to 2024-25; full-time teachers fell 16%
125 students in 2022-23, 118 students in 2023-24, 81 students in 2024-25. Full-time teachers went from 25.0 to 21.0.
The numbers as a table
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Per teacher |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | 125 | 25.0 | 5.0 |
| 2023-24 | 118 | 23.0 | 5.1 |
| 2024-25 | 81 | 21.0 | 3.9 |
3.9 students per teacher, a lower ratio than 99 of every 100 New Jersey high schools
Among the 427 New Jersey high schools that reported teachers for 2024-25 the median is 12.1; the national median for high schools is 14.5. A ratio counts every teacher, so it is not the size of a class.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data membership and staff files, 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25; the comparison counts schools with a 2024-25 teacher count and a ratio from 3 to 99 (lower values are reporting errors).
One counselor per 71 students in 2021-22
In the 2021-22 civil rights collection Alternative High School enrolled 71 students and had 1.0 counselor (full-time equivalent); it reported 27 out-of-school suspensions that year.
- Advanced Placement coursesNone
- Gifted and talented programNo
- Counselors (FTE)1.0, one per 71 of the 71 students enrolled in 2021-22
- Out-of-school suspensions27
- Chronically absent83.2% (2022-23)
Who attends
58.0% of students were Black, 42.0% Hispanic in 2024-25.
- Black58.0%
- Hispanic42.0%
Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2021-22; chronic absenteeism from EDFacts 2022-23; every count and the counselor ratio are for that school year. Who attends: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25, membership by race and ethnicity.
State test results, 2021-22 and 2022-23
The students tested at Alternative High School scored proficient or above: under 50% in reading in 2021-22 and 20% or less in math in 2022-23, against 48.6% in reading in 2021-22 and 37.6% in math in 2022-23 across New Jersey. Each state writes its own test and sets its own proficiency bar, so compare these within New Jersey, not across states. ED Data Express holds no district results after 2021-22, so the district column gives its 2021-22 figure.
| Subject and year | This school | Its district | New Jersey |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading and language arts, 2021-22 | under 50% | 24% | 48.6% |
| Math, 2022-23 | 20% or less | 11% (2021-22) | 37.6% |
Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts state assessment results 2021-22 and 2022-23, all students, from ED Data Express (2021-22 through the Data Rescue Project archive); for 2022-23 ED published math by school and reading only by state: ED shows school and district results as ranges (for example 20-24%) to protect small groups.
High schools in Paterson
8 public high schools in Paterson report 2024-25 enrollment; Alternative High School is number 8 by size.
| School | Students | Per teacher | Free lunch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eastside High School | 2,073 | 15.9 | 57.1% |
| John F. Kennedy High School | 1,846 | 13.4 | 59.0% |
| International High School | 650 | 12.5 | 73.8% |
| Paterson STEAM High School | 379 | 11.8 | 63.3% |
| Rosa L. Parks School of Fine and Performing Arts | 258 | 9.9 | 59.3% |
| Paterson P-TECH | 193 | 12.1 | 53.9% |
| Students Transitioning and Achieving Real Success | 112 | 14.0 | 54.5% |
| Alternative High School | 81 | 3.9 | 69.1% |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25.
What to look at next about Alternative High School
- Eastside High SchoolThe nearest public high school, 0.2 miles away: 2,073 students, 15.9 per teacher (2024-25).0.2 mi
- Paterson P-TECHThe next nearest public high school, 0.3 miles away: 193 students, 12.1 per teacher (2024-25).0.3 mi
- Compare Alternative High School with Eastside High SchoolStudents, teachers, meals, test results and who attends, side by side.
- How much Paterson Public Schools spends per student$25,726 per student on current operations in fiscal year 2022-23 (U.S. $16,260), with its revenue sources and teacher pay.$25,726
- The largest public schools in New JerseyAlternative High School is the number 417 by size of 447 New Jersey high schools open in 2024-25.#417 of 447
- New Jersey schools by students per teacher3.9 students per teacher here against the New Jersey median of 12.1 for high schools.3.9:1
- Find the school district for an addressA home's district, not its city, decides which public schools it can enroll in.
Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (locations, enrollment, teachers); NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23. Distances are straight lines between the schools' NCES coordinates, not travel routes.
Questions about Alternative High School
How many students attend Alternative High School?
81 in the 2024-25 school year, according to the NCES Common Core of Data; 125 in 2022-23. It is a high school in Paterson, NJ.What is the student-teacher ratio at Alternative High School?
3.9 students per full-time teacher (2024-25); the New Jersey median for high schools is 12.1. A ratio counts every teacher, so it is not the size of a class.Is Alternative High School a Title I school?
Alternative High School ran a schoolwide Title I program in 2021-22, the last year NCES published school Title I status.How do students at Alternative High School do on state tests?
The students tested at Alternative High School scored proficient or above: under 50% in reading in 2021-22 and 20% or less in math in 2022-23, against 48.6% in reading in 2021-22 and 37.6% in math in 2022-23 across New Jersey. New Jersey's own test sets what proficient means, so results compare within the state, not across states. Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts state assessment results, 2021-22 and 2022-23; ED publishes school results as ranges to protect small groups.What district is Alternative High School in?
Paterson Public Schools, NCES district ID 3412690. The first seven digits of the school's NCES ID 341269003111 are the district's.
Reading these figures: how to choose a school district, what Title I means and what an absenteeism rate means. They are for information and are not a substitute for the school's or district's own records.
Sources
Every federal file behind this record
- NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25: directory, membership, staff and lunch files. nces.ed.gov
- NCES Common Core of Data, 2021-22 school characteristics: Title I status. nces.ed.gov
- Civil Rights Data Collection, 2021-22: AP courses, gifted programs, counselors, discipline. civilrightsdata.ed.gov
- EDFacts, 2022-23: chronic absenteeism. ed.gov
- EDFacts state assessment results, 2021-22 and 2022-23: reading and math proficiency for the school, its district and its state (ED Data Express). eddataexpress.ed.gov
- NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, fiscal year 2022-23: district spending and revenue. nces.ed.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau geocoder and TIGER school districts: the district boundary used by the district finder. census.gov
Source: NCES Common Core of Data Directory, membership, staff and lunch files · 2024-25
Source: Civil Rights Data Collection School-level files (AP, gifted, counselors, discipline) · 2021-22
District spending on the district page is from the NCES F-33 finance survey, fiscal year 2022-23.