Albert D. Griswold Middle School, Rocky Hill CT

Original Research by School Decision on Albert D. Griswold Middle School

Albert D. Griswold Middle School sits in Rocky Hill, a mixed residential and commercial suburb south of Hartford that has been growing steadily through multifamily housing development. The school serves grades six through eight and enrolls a student population that is diverse in composition and moderately affluent. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is substantially Asian, with a majority white enrollment, a smaller Hispanic population, and small numbers of Black students and students of other backgrounds.

The school's most recent state testing shows solid overall performance. Across English language arts, proficiency rates run between the low seventies and high seventies depending on grade. Sixth graders attain a proficiency rate in the mid-seventies, seventh graders are stronger in the high seventies, and eighth graders land in the mid-seventies. In math, the picture is similar but slightly lower: sixth graders are near the low sixties, seventh graders climb to the high seventies, and eighth graders settle in the mid-sixties. Science testing, available only for eighth grade, shows proficiency in the upper sixties. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile of schools across the Capitol Planning Region, the county grouping used for comparison.

Seventh grade emerges as the school's strongest testing cohort, particularly in English language arts, where proficiency exceeds the sixties and seventies seen in the adjacent grades. Sixth-grade math proficiency is comparatively softer, though still approaching or exceeding the regional profile's midpoint. Eighth grade in math shows a dip from seventh, which is not uncommon in middle-grade trajectories, and warrants watching as students move to high school. The school maintains near-universal test participation, with only minor absences in participation rates.

Rocky Hill School District itself is undertaking a major renovation of the high school, a capital project approved in late 2024 with the town committing to union labor for the work. This kind of long-term facility investment signals both meaningful tax implications for families and, ultimately, a modernized high school building for students who move forward through the system. For a family considering Albert D. Griswold, the pathways to the high school are being shaped by this investment, though the middle school itself does not have detailed program offerings or staffing information in available public data.

The town is actively reshaping itself, with major mixed-use residential and commercial development underway. Housing values in the area have climbed modestly, and rents are rising. For families seeking a middle school with reliable baseline proficiency, a reasonably affluent peer group, and a district making visible facility improvements at the high school level, Griswold offers a straightforward suburban fit. The school does not report special population data in publicly available form, so a parent should ask the school directly about English learner services, special education capacity, and other support programs if those are relevant to their child.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 661%

School 61% · District 60%

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 773%

School 73% · District 73%

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 865%

School 65% · District 65%

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 672%

School 72% · District 71%

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 779%

School 79% · District 79%

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 876%

School 76% · District 76%

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Science

Grade 870%

School 70% · District 69%

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

This schoolRocky Hill 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 6Lower-income51%Higher-income78%27 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income60%Higher-income85%25 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income56%Higher-income84%28 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income50%Higher-income79%29 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income33%Higher-income76%43 pp gap