Carrington School, Waterbury CT - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Carrington School

Carrington School serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in Waterbury, Connecticut, enrolling a school population of about mid-sized range that is predominantly Hispanic and Black. Roughly seven in ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic circumstances of the South End and surrounding neighborhoods where the school draws its enrollment.

The school's state test data shows lower proficiency rates across tested subjects. In math, third graders achieved about half proficiency, fourth graders roughly two-fifths, and performance declined further in fifth grade and beyond, with seventh graders at roughly one-fifth proficiency. English language arts followed a similar pattern, with third-grade results near math levels, fourth through sixth grades hovering around two-fifths to just over two-fifths proficiency, while seventh and eighth grade data were not publicly reported. Science proficiency, tested in grades five and eight, showed roughly two-fifths proficiency in fifth grade and just over one-quarter in eighth grade. Overall proficiency across all tested areas and grades sits below the midpoint when compared to other districts in the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region.

The portrait across grade levels reveals a pattern that a parent may want to look into further with the school: proficiency tends to decline as students progress through the upper elementary and middle years. This is not uncommon, but understanding whether this reflects increasing content difficulty, shifts in instructional focus, or other factors worth addressing would be important for families considering the school or already enrolled.

Carrington sits within the Waterbury School District, which has made several changes relevant to families. The district recently granted universal free breakfast and lunch to all students, removing meal costs and paperwork barriers. The Waterbury Promise scholarship program launched to help local graduates afford Connecticut colleges, a lasting financial benefit for families looking ahead to higher education. The district also received a full waiver under Connecticut's Right to Read law, meaning its existing K-3 reading instruction was approved to continue rather than be replaced, so early literacy teaching is grounded in science-of-reading principles the district had already adopted.

Waterbury itself is a former brass-manufacturing city and the fifth-largest city in Connecticut, with neighborhoods that vary widely. Downtown is experiencing active redevelopment, with new housing, university campus relocations, and transit improvements. The surrounding West End, South End, and Bunker Hill neighborhoods are quieter, more residential, and farther from the downtown revitalization. Housing costs in the area are modest compared to state and national benchmarks. Metro-North rail service connects Waterbury to lower Fairfield County and Manhattan, and the city is served by local and express bus transit. The city anchors the regional economy through health care, education, and light manufacturing, with Waterbury Hospital, Saint Mary's Hospital, and the public school system among the largest employers.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 353%

School 53% · District 28% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 439%

School 39% · District 27% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 18% · ▲ 8 pts above district

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

Grade 635%

School 35% · District 15% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 719%

School 19% · District 15% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 353%

School 53% · District 23% · ▲ 30 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 441%

School 41% · District 28% · ▲ 13 pts above district

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

Grade 541%

School 41% · District 28% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 641%

School 41% · District 28% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Science

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 30% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 829%

School 29% · District 23% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

This schoolWaterbury 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.