John L. Costley Middle School

Public middle school, grades 6 to 8 · East Orange, New Jersey

John L. Costley Middle School in East Orange, New Jersey enrolled 334 students in 2024-25 with 24.9 full-time teachers, 13.4 students per teacher against the New Jersey middle-school median of 10.8. 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, 14% of its students tested were proficient in reading in 2021-22 and 2% 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 held steady from 2022-23 to 2024-25; full-time teachers fell 11%

333 students in 2022-23, 320 students in 2023-24, 334 students in 2024-25. Full-time teachers went from 27.9 to 24.9.

Students enrolled at John L. Costley Middle School by school year2022-23: 333, 2023-24: 320, 2024-25: 33401002003004002022-233332023-243202024-25334
Students enrolled at John L. Costley Middle School by school year2022-23: 333, 2023-24: 320, 2024-25: 33401002003004002022-233332023-243202024-25334
Students enrolled at John L. Costley Middle School by school year2022-23: 333, 2023-24: 320, 2024-25: 33401002003004002022-233332023-243202024-25334
Students enrolled at John L. Costley Middle School by school year2022-23: 333, 2023-24: 320, 2024-25: 33401002003004002022-233332023-243202024-25334
The numbers as a table
School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Per teacher
2022-2333327.911.9
2023-2432025.512.5
2024-2533424.913.4

13.4 students per teacher, a higher ratio than 90 of every 100 New Jersey middle schools

Among the 438 New Jersey middle schools that reported teachers for 2024-25 the median is 10.8; the national median for middle schools is 14.6. A ratio counts every teacher, so it is not the size of a class.

Students per teacher, New Jersey middle schools, 2024-25240 values from 5.4 to 18.5; This school 13.4; state median 10.8.5101520students per full-time teacherThis school 13.4state median 10.8U.S. 14.6
Students per teacher, New Jersey middle schools, 2024-25240 values from 5.4 to 18.5; This school 13.4; state median 10.8.5101520students per full-time teacherThis school 13.4state median 10.8U.S. 14.6
Students per teacher, New Jersey middle schools, 2024-25240 values from 5.4 to 18.5; This school 13.4; state median 10.8.5101520students per full-time teacherThis school 13.4state median 10.8U.S. 14.6
Students per teacher, New Jersey middle schools, 2024-25240 values from 5.4 to 18.5; This school 13.4; state median 10.8.5101520students per full-time teacherThis school 13.4state median 10.8U.S. 14.6

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 182 students in 2021-22

In the 2021-22 civil rights collection John L. Costley Middle School enrolled 363 students and had 2.0 counselors (full-time equivalent); it reported 61 out-of-school suspensions that year.

  • Advanced Placement coursesNone
  • Gifted and talented programNo
  • Counselors (FTE)2.0, one per 182 of the 363 students enrolled in 2021-22
  • Out-of-school suspensions61
  • Chronically absent22.5% (2022-23)

Who attends

70.4% of students were Black, 22.8% Hispanic, 4.5% White in 2024-25.

  1. Black70.4%
  2. Hispanic22.8%
  3. White4.5%
  4. Asian0.9%
  5. Two or more races0.6%
  6. Pacific Islander0.6%
  7. American Indian0.3%

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 John L. Costley Middle School scored proficient or above: 14% in reading in 2021-22 and 2% 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.

Students proficient or above, 2021-22 and 2022-23
Subject and yearThis schoolIts districtNew Jersey
Reading and language arts, 2021-2214%30%48.6%
Math, 2022-232%12% (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.

Middle schools in East Orange

4 public middle schools in East Orange report 2024-25 enrollment; John L. Costley Middle School is the largest.

SchoolStudentsPer teacherFree lunch
John L. Costley Middle School33413.49.6%
Patrick F. Healy Middle School32215.712.1%
Pride Academy Charter School30016.065.3%
Sojourner Truth Middle School26413.524.6%

All public schools in East Orange →

Source: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25.

What to look at next about John L. Costley Middle School

  1. Sojourner Truth Middle SchoolThe nearest public middle school, under 0.1 miles away: 264 students, 13.5 per teacher (2024-25).under 0.1 mi
  2. Patrick F. Healy Middle SchoolThe next nearest public middle school, under 0.1 miles away: 322 students, 15.7 per teacher (2024-25).under 0.1 mi
  3. Compare John L. Costley Middle School with Sojourner Truth Middle SchoolStudents, teachers, meals, test results and who attends, side by side.
  4. How much East Orange School District spends per student$30,322 per student on current operations in fiscal year 2022-23 (U.S. $16,260), with its revenue sources and teacher pay.$30,322
  5. The largest public schools in New JerseyJohn L. Costley Middle School is the number 352 by size of 439 New Jersey middle schools open in 2024-25.#352 of 439
  6. New Jersey schools by students per teacher13.4 students per teacher here against the New Jersey median of 10.8 for middle schools.13.4:1
  7. 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 John L. Costley Middle School

  1. How many students attend John L. Costley Middle School?
    334 in the 2024-25 school year, according to the NCES Common Core of Data; 333 in 2022-23. It is a middle school in East Orange, NJ.
  2. What is the student-teacher ratio at John L. Costley Middle School?
    13.4 students per full-time teacher (2024-25); the New Jersey median for middle schools is 10.8. A ratio counts every teacher, so it is not the size of a class.
  3. Is John L. Costley Middle School a Title I school?
    John L. Costley Middle School ran a schoolwide Title I program in 2021-22, the last year NCES published school Title I status.
  4. How do students at John L. Costley Middle School do on state tests?
    The students tested at John L. Costley Middle School scored proficient or above: 14% in reading in 2021-22 and 2% 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.
  5. What district is John L. Costley Middle School in?
    East Orange School District, NCES district ID 3404230. The first seven digits of the school's NCES ID 340423005930 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.

Compiled from official source data by .