The top reported proficiency rate is 61% in Science. The lowest is 44% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Silas Deane Middle School
Silas Deane Middle School is a regular public middle school in Wethersfield serving seventh and eighth graders. It sits on Silas Deane Highway, the town's main commercial corridor, drawing from a school district that encompasses the mixed-use town of Wethersfield, a leafy residential community immediately south of Hartford.
The school's enrollment is small to moderate for a middle school, distributed roughly equally across seventh and eighth grade. About a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is predominantly white, with a meaningful Hispanic population and smaller Asian and Black populations. Data on special education enrollment and English learner populations were not available.
Academically, the school shows a split profile across subjects. In English language arts, performance is markedly stronger: about two-thirds of eighth graders and just over half of seventh graders demonstrated proficiency. Mathematics proficiency is notably lower, with roughly two-fifths of students in both grades meeting the standard. Science proficiency in eighth grade falls between these two, at about three-fifths. When averaged across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency sits below the midpoint among the Capitol Planning Region's districts, a meaningful positioning that suggests a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand where support or challenge programs exist, what instructional approaches the school is emphasizing, and how seventh-grade math performance factors into eighth-grade readiness.
The district itself is undergoing substantial change. In early 2026, voters approved a major elementary school construction and renovation bond that will build a new Highcrest Elementary School and renovate two existing elementary buildings. More relevant to this school, the Wethersfield Board of Education approved a new district-wide literacy program in April 2024, a curriculum shift that touches reading instruction across all grades. These moves reflect an active district making deliberate choices about facilities and teaching methods.
Housing in Wethersfield's zip code is appreciating, with home values well above the state benchmark and modest year-over-year gains. Rental housing is also tight, with affordability stretched. Wethersfield itself is a mixed-use town combining colonial-era residential neighborhoods with Old Wethersfield's walkable historic core and the commercial Silas Deane Highway corridor. Employment is anchored by the Connecticut state government, healthcare operations, and the school district itself. Public parks, especially Mill Woods Park with its recreation amenities, and the Heritage Way Bike Trail serve the community's outdoor life, though the school campus itself sits removed from the historic village center rather than within it. Public transit exists via CT Transit bus routes, though Hartford station is the nearest rail.
The comparison data available cover only proficiency, and only one year of testing results, so longer-term trends and the school's progress over time cannot be assessed from this record.
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