The top reported proficiency rate is 88% in Science. The lowest is 62% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Brackett
Brackett Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Arlington, one of the denser residential suburbs of Boston. The school is one of seven K–5 elementary schools distributed across the town’s neighborhoods, which means the student body is drawn largely from the immediate area around Eastern Avenue. The enrollment is moderate for an elementary school, and the student composition is predominantly white, with a notable Asian population and a smaller share of students who identify as Hispanic or as two or more races. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, as well as counts of students with individualized education programs or English learner status, were not reported, so a parent looking to understand the school’s socioeconomic or special-education profile would want to ask the school directly.
On state assessments, Brackett posts a mixed picture. In English language arts and math, the share of students scoring proficient or above sits broadly around the midpoint of the school’s own recent history; the figures have been relatively steady over the past several years, with some variation. Science performance, which is tested only at one grade within this span, is meaningfully stronger, with a large majority of students reaching the proficient level. When measured against the broader field of schools across Middlesex County, Brackett’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile. That comparison set is wide and includes many schools in a region that is itself above the state average, so being in the top quartile there signals solid academic performance relative to a strong peer group.
There is no graduation rate because the school does not serve high school grades, and no chronic absenteeism rate was reported. Information on class size, staffing ratios, discipline, and course access beyond what is tested was also unavailable, leaving a parent to rely on the proficiency data and the school’s local reputation to gauge the daily learning environment.
Arlington itself is a walkable, transit-connected town with a strong civic and cultural infrastructure. The Minuteman Bikeway runs through the center, providing a bike route to Cambridge and Boston. Multiple bus routes serve the area. The town has a historic downtown core anchored by the Robbins Library, the Regent Theatre, and several parks. The housing market reflects the desirability of the location: prices are well above the national and state medians, typical for the inner suburbs of Boston. Rents are also high, and the median home value suggests that families settling here are making a significant financial commitment to the community. The district has not had any major publicly reported recent changes that would alter the school’s trajectory, and the absence of recent news about closures or boundary shifts suggests stability for the foreseeable future.
For a family considering Brackett, the school offers a neighborhood-based elementary experience in a town known for strong public schools overall. The student body is relatively homogeneous by race and, likely, by income, though the missing free-lunch data makes that harder to confirm. The academic results are solid, especially in science, and the math and English scores have held steady rather than rising or falling sharply. A parent whose priority is a consistently high-performing elementary school in a densely settled, walkable suburb with excellent transit access to Boston would find Brackett worth investigating further on the details that are absent from the public record, such as special education services and the school’s approach to supporting the range of learners within its walls.
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