Sport and Medical Sciences Academy, Hartford CT

Original Research by School Decision on Sport and Medical Sciences Academy

Sport and Medical Sciences Academy is a Hartford public middle and high school serving grades six through twelve, with enrollment of about four hundred and fifty students. The school is located on Huyshope Avenue and draws from across Hartford and the Capitol Planning Region.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial Black population, and about a third are White or Asian. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the high poverty concentration in Hartford. The school does not report data on special populations such as English learners or students with disabilities; whether this reflects small numbers or data reporting constraints is unclear.

Academic performance on state assessments is a significant consideration. The school's proficiency rates are well below the midpoint among districts in the Capitol Planning Region across math, English language arts, and science. In sixth and seventh grade math, proficiency rates are in the single digits to low double digits. Eighth grade shows stronger results, with math proficiency around one-fifth of students, English language arts proficiency also around one-fifth, and science proficiency slightly higher. Across all tested subjects and grades combined, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile of comparable schools in the region. A parent may want to look into this further with the school: what support services exist, what literacy and numeracy interventions are in place, and how the school is responding to these assessment results.

The school's name suggests a theme or pathway focus on sports and medical sciences. The Hartford School District has been expanding athletics significantly, growing middle school sports from nothing in 2020 to a substantial program, and adding high school teams and a new girls flag football program. This may indicate that Sport and Medical Sciences Academy offers a sports-themed or dual-track environment, though specific course offerings and program details were not available in the data.

Hartford itself is a city in transition. The capital and traditional insurance center has lost population over decades but is investing heavily in downtown residential development and neighborhood revitalization. Home values are rising modestly. The city is walkable in its downtown and several neighborhoods, has excellent transit via Union Station and CTfastrak bus service, and anchors cultural institutions like the Wadsworth Atheneum and Connecticut Science Center. Employment centers on insurance, healthcare, and aerospace. The School District itself has faced substantial budget pressure, with recent years marked by staff reductions and the expiration of federal COVID relief funds. The district has shifted early literacy instruction toward a science-of-reading approach districtwide.

For families considering this school, the academic performance data indicates students face significant proficiency challenges, particularly in the lower grades, and a parent would want clarity from the school on its remediation and acceleration strategies. The apparent sports or health sciences theme may appeal to students with interest in those areas. The school sits within a city undergoing visible economic and residential change, with improving transit and housing development downtown and in nearby neighborhoods like Parkville.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

90-94%Cohort of 87 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

205 schools plotted. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 67%

School 7% · District 16% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

Grade 713%

School 13% · District 15% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Grade 821%

School 21% · District 14% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 611%

School 11% · District 20% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 43 pts below county median

Grade 718%

School 18% · District 21% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 37 pts below county median

Grade 821%

School 21% · District 22% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

Science

Grade 822%

School 22% · District 21% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

This schoolHartford 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.