New Jersey · EDFacts 2021-22

Chronic Absenteeism in New Jersey

The 100 schools with the highest chronic absenteeism rates in New Jersey, ranked by the share of students missing 15 or more school days a year.

Compiled from official source data by PlainSchools Editorial. · Updated June 2026

The picture in one line

The 100 New Jersey schools listed here average 53.5% chronic absenteeism, against a national school average of 29.5%, and 52 of them sit above the 50% critical line.

53.5%
average across these 100 schools: 29.5%
national school average: 87.6%
highest rate (Forest Hill School): 52
schools above 50%

#	School	Enrollment	Status	Absent %
1	Forest Hill School CAMDEN	339	Critical	87.6%
2	Newark Educators Community Charter School NEWARK	142	Critical	86.6%
3	School 3 PATERSON	167	Critical	80.8%
4	School 10 PATERSON	474	Critical	79.1%
5	Asbury Park High School ASBURY PARK	379	Critical	78.9%
6	Camden High School CAMDEN	425	Critical	76.5%
7	Cooper's Poynt Family School CAMDEN	381	Critical	74.3%
8	Yorkship Elementary School CAMDEN	310	Critical	73.9%
9	East Side High School CAMDEN	512	Critical	73.6%
10	Whitney M. Young Jr. School JERSEY CITY	623	Critical	73.4%
11	Dr. Henry H. Davis Elementary School CAMDEN	515	Critical	72.4%
12	Ollie Culbreth Jr. School JERSEY CITY	335	Critical	72.2%
13	Dr. Charles E. Brimm Medical Arts High School CAMDEN	179	Critical	71.5%
14	School 13 PATERSON	499	Critical	71.3%
15	Gregory Elementary School TRENTON	311	Critical	68.2%
16	Edward W. Kilpatrick PATERSON	295	Critical	64.1%
17	Ezra L. Nolan School JERSEY CITY	250	Critical	64.0%
18	Freedom Prep Charter School CAMDEN	743	Critical	63.3%
19	Uptown School Complex Atlantic City	518	Critical	61.2%
20	Rev. Dr. Frank Napier Jr. School PATERSON	491	Critical	60.7%
21	President Barack Obama Elementary School JERSEY CITY	425	Critical	60.5%
22	Harrison Elementary School TRENTON	243	Critical	60.5%
23	School 12 PATERSON	474	Critical	60.1%
24	Camden Big Picture Learning Academy CAMDEN	150	Critical	60.0%
25	Theodore Roosevelt School No. 10 Passaic	369	Critical	59.9%
26	School 21 PATERSON	665	Critical	58.9%
27	Veterans Memorial Middle VINELAND	603	Critical	58.7%
28	Dale Avenue PATERSON	228	Critical	58.3%
29	Martin Center for the Arts JERSEY CITY	359	Critical	58.2%
30	Young Men's Academy Paterson	50	Critical	58.0%
31	School 8 PATERSON	411	Critical	57.7%
32	Chaplain Charles Watters School JERSEY CITY	586	Critical	57.5%
33	Senator Frank Lautenberg School PATERSON	605	Critical	57.4%
34	Etta Gero School No. 9 Passaic	387	Critical	57.1%
35	Gladys Nunery School JERSEY CITY	251	Critical	56.6%
36	Grover Cleveland Elementary School NEWARK	321	Critical	56.1%
37	Veterans Memorial Family School CAMDEN	474	Critical	55.7%
38	Hope Community Charter School Camden	115	Critical	53.9%
39	Washington Elementary School TRENTON	321	Critical	53.6%
40	Paulsboro Junior High School Paulsboro	155	Critical	53.5%
41	Casimir Pulaski School No. 8 Passaic	317	Critical	52.7%
42	Thomas W. Wallace Jr. Middle School VINELAND	695	Critical	52.4%
43	New York Avenue School Atlantic City	550	Critical	52.4%
44	Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Educational Complex PATERSON	513	Critical	52.4%
45	Lindenwold School Four LINDENWOLD	657	Critical	52.1%
46	Franklin Elementary School TRENTON	372	Critical	51.6%
47	Rosa L. Parks School of Fine and Performing Arts PATERSON	258	Critical	51.6%
48	Rafael Hernandez School NEWARK	713	Critical	51.2%
49	Speedway Avenue School NEWARK	525	Critical	50.9%
50	Dr. Martin Luther King Upper Elementary School ASBURY PARK	195	Critical	50.8%
51	School 19 PATERSON	288	Critical	50.3%
52	Dr Martin Luther King Jr School Complex Atlantic City	544	Critical	50.0%
53	American History High School NEWARK	386	High	49.7%
54	International High School PATERSON	650	High	49.5%
55	P.J. Hill Elementary TRENTON	555	High	49.5%
56	School 20 PATERSON	343	High	49.0%
57	Frederic W. Cook Elementary School PLAINFIELD	198	High	49.0%
58	Roseville Community Charter School NEWARK	285	High	48.8%
59	West Side High School Newark	541	High	48.2%
60	Paterson P-Tech PATERSON	193	High	47.7%
61	Plainfield High School PLAINFIELD	2,077	High	47.2%
62	Camden Prep Inc. Camden	1,498	High	47.1%
63	New Horizons Community Charter School NEWARK	370	High	46.8%
64	Paterson Steam High School PATERSON	379	High	46.7%
65	Trenton Stem-to-Civics Charter School Ewing	562	High	46.1%
66	Paulsboro High School PAULSBORO	390	High	45.9%
67	Irvington High School IRVINGTON	1,913	High	45.6%
68	Creative Arts High School CAMDEN	209	High	45.5%
69	Avon Avenue School NEWARK	485	High	45.4%
70	School 5 PATERSON	753	High	45.2%
71	School 2 PATERSON	473	High	45.2%
72	Orange Preparatory Academy School of Inquiry and Innovation ORANGE	397	High	44.6%
73	Thomas H. Dudley Family School Camden	549	High	44.4%
74	Wallkill Valley Regional High School HARDYSTON TOWNSHIP	581	High	44.2%
75	School 26 PATERSON	419	High	44.2%
76	Lindenwold School Five LINDENWOLD	596	High	44.1%
77	Trenton Central High School - Main Campus TRENTON	2,097	High	44.0%
78	Marion P. Thomas Charter School NEWARK	1,410	High	44.0%
79	Benjamin Franklin School No. 13 ELIZABETH	392	High	43.4%
80	School 15 PATERSON	577	High	43.3%
81	Mott Elementary School TRENTON	375	High	43.2%
82	Lindenwold Middle School LINDENWOLD	896	High	42.7%
83	Daniel F. Ryan Elementary School No. 19 Passaic	590	High	42.7%
84	Atlantic Community Charter School Galloway	333	High	42.6%
85	Theodora Smiley Lacey Elementary School TEANECK	115	High	42.6%
86	Salem High School SALEM	393	High	42.5%
87	Sussex Middle School SUSSEX	291	High	42.3%
88	Lakeside Middle School MILLVILLE	929	High	41.9%
89	New Roberto Clemente PATERSON	473	High	41.9%
90	Lincoln High School JERSEY CITY	767	High	41.7%
91	Keansburg High School KEANSBURG	379	High	41.7%
92	Robbins Elementary School TRENTON	459	High	41.6%
93	Woodruff Middle School Seabrook	253	High	41.5%
94	Margaret Mace Elementary School North Wildwood	159	High	41.5%
95	Lead Charter School Newark	333	High	41.4%
96	Newark Vocational High School NEWARK	591	High	41.1%
97	Alfred Zampella School JERSEY CITY	629	High	41.0%
98	Walter O. Krumbiegel Middle School HILLSIDE	323	High	40.9%
99	William B. Cruise Memorial School No. 11 Passaic	805	High	40.6%
100	Salem Middle School SALEM	472	High	40.5%

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Source: U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts, Chronic Absenteeism Data (SY 2021-22). Schools with fewer than 50 students excluded. Percentage = chronically absent students / total enrollment U.S. Department of Education, EDFacts, Chronic Absenteeism Data (SY 2021-22). Schools with fewer than 50 students excluded. Percentage = chronically absent students / total enrollment

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.