West Bristol School, Bristol CT - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on West Bristol School

West Bristol School serves kindergarten through grade eight in Bristol, a suburban city southwest of Hartford. The school enrolls students from a residential area with substantial economic need; a majority of the enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is diverse, with roughly equal shares of white and Hispanic students, along with smaller numbers of Black and Asian students and students identifying as two or more races.

The most recent state assessment data shows academic performance below the midpoint among districts in the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. In English language arts across all tested grades, roughly six in ten students achieved proficiency. In mathematics, the picture is more uneven: third and fourth graders showed rates near or slightly above four in ten, while proficiency dropped sharply in sixth and seventh grade, falling to just over a quarter of students. Fifth grade math sat in the mid-to-high-thirties percentile. Science proficiency at grade five was near a third of students. Grade eight data for science and some eighth-grade ELA results were suppressed, likely due to small cell sizes in the tested population.

This grade-band configuration is about to change significantly. West Bristol is transitioning from a kindergarten-through-eighth structure to a kindergarten-through-fifth model as part of a district-wide redistricting plan. Beginning in fall of 2026, sixth through eighth graders from West Bristol will move to either Chippens Hill Middle School or the newly constructed Northeast Middle School, depending on their eventual high school assignment. Families should be aware that this reshuffles which school their child attends by neighborhood and may extend bus commutes for some.

The school sits in Bristol proper, a place with deep industrial heritage, now in the midst of a downtown revitalization centered on the Centre Square site. Housing values in the Bristol 06010 zip code run modestly below the state benchmark, though home prices have risen in recent years. Rent remains relatively affordable compared to other Connecticut markets. The city's major employers include ESPN, which dominates the local economy, as well as Bristol Health and diversified manufacturers. City government and the school district rank among the largest employers. Bristol is a car-oriented place with modest walkability; transit is available through local bus service and CTfastrak.

The Bristol School District is managing a complex facilities and enrollment transition. Beyond West Bristol's grade reconfiguration, a new Northeast Middle School building is under construction and due to open in fall 2026. The district also operates the Bristol Arts and Innovation Magnet School, a lottery-entry arts school in grades six through twelve that families may consider as an alternative. Property taxes in Bristol have been rising, with the school budget and special education funding pressures driving increases in the mill rate. These are real considerations in a family's total cost of living.

West Bristol's academic trends show a school whose students, on the whole, are meeting proficiency at rates below those of many peers in the region. Families considering this school may want to look into what supports are available for students working below proficiency, particularly in upper elementary and middle grades mathematics. The transition to K-5 configuration, while a logistical shift, could also present an opportunity to reshape programming or instruction at the elementary level once the redistricting takes effect.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 334%

School 34% · District 46% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 45% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 38% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 628%

School 28% · District 41% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 725%

School 25% · District 38% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 39% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 337%

School 37% · District 48% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 52% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 46% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 48% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 731%

School 31% · District 49% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Science

Grade 537%

School 37% · District 44% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

This schoolBristol School District, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income30%Higher-income45%16 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income37%Higher-income53%16 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income22%Higher-income36%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income17%Higher-income37%20 pp gap