The top reported proficiency rate is 14% in Math. The lowest is 13% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Hall School
Hall School is a small public elementary school serving pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in Bridgeport. It enrolls about a hundred and seventy students, and the vast majority—roughly nine in ten—qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly Black and Hispanic, with a small share of white students and other groups.
The school's recent test results show academic attainment well below where students in the state typically score. In math, the school's overall proficiency rate sits just under half, and in English language arts it is just above half. When you look at individual grades, the picture is uneven. Grade three in ELA shows very low proficiency; grade five in math also reports very low proficiency. Some other grades have test data marked as suppressed by the state, which happens when sample sizes are very small (fewer than about a dozen students in a grade-subject combination), so a full portrait is incomplete. The one science result reported—for grade five—was similarly suppressed. Full participation rates were high across the grades tested, meaning the assessment data itself is not distorted by absences on test days.
Comparing Hall to other schools in the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, the school sits in the bottom quartile on overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. The data offers no graduation rate (the school does not serve high school grades) and does not include chronic absenteeism or other attendance measures.
Hall sits in Bridgeport, a mid-sized coastal city undergoing active waterfront redevelopment with new mixed-income housing, though the broader challenge of poverty and housing affordability shapes the area. The city is densely built, culturally diverse, and served by regional rail and bus transit. Home values and rents in the 06610 zip code are modest relative to the state benchmark.
The Bridgeport School District itself faces serious fiscal and operational headwinds. In late 2024 the district announced a major budget shortfall tied to the end of federal COVID relief funds and flat city funding; cuts followed in spring 2025 including the elimination of teaching positions, busing for a substantial share of students, performing arts, and all district librarians. In January 2025 the state education board authorized formal intervention in the district, citing budget deficit, failures to deliver special education services, and leadership instability. The state deployed a technical assistance team, required board governance training, and retained approval authority over any permanent superintendent hire. A forensic audit of district spending followed.
Beginning in the 2024–25 school year the district adopted new scripted curricula in multiple subjects, including a new ELA program for grades six through twelve that requires teachers to follow a daily script with set pacing and no flexibility. That program drew criticism for limited teacher input, though it applies to Hall only through grade six.
Hall's test performance, combined with the district's fiscal distress and service cuts, means the school is operating in a constrained environment. A parent or resident weighing this school should expect low academic proficiency and the effects of district-wide staffing and program reductions. Conversations directly with the school about current class sizes, service availability, and any local supports would be warranted.
See more original research from School Decision →