The top reported proficiency rate is 40% in English language arts. The lowest is 36% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Thomas Willett Elementary School
Thomas Willett Elementary School is a regular public school in Attleboro serving kindergarten through fourth grade. The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic presence and smaller shares of Black, Asian, and multiracial students, along with a handful of Native American and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander children. The school does not report its share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals, nor does it break out special education or English learner populations in the available data, so a parent would want to ask the school about these directly to understand the full support picture.
On the Massachusetts Next-Generation MCAS assessments, roughly two out of every five students scored proficient or above in English language arts, and a slightly smaller share did so in math. That overall proficiency level sits below the midpoint when set against other districts in Bristol County. The trend lines show that the school’s scores were notably higher in the years before the pandemic: in the late 2010s, proficiency in both subjects ran closer to half or two-thirds of students. After a steep dip in the 2020–21 testing cycle, achievement in math recovered to about two in five and has stayed near that level, while English language arts has crept up only modestly from its pandemic low. The most recent year’s math result edged back down a bit. A parent may want to ask the school about its approach to accelerating students who are below the proficient mark, especially given the multiyear pattern.
Because Thomas Willett serves only through fourth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and data on chronic absenteeism is also absent from the available records.
Attleboro itself is a small Gateway City on the Massachusetts–Rhode Island line with a jewelry manufacturing history that still shows in a handful of operating firms. The city has a historic downtown, two MBTA commuter rail stations, and a mix of residential neighborhoods and commercial corridors. Housing in the school’s ZIP code is priced at a level that makes the area moderately less expensive than the state overall but still above national benchmarks. The local housing market has seen inventory tighten, with pending sales rising sharply, and home values have increased modestly year over year. Rents have also been on the rise.
Several district-level changes will directly affect families considering Thomas Willett. Starting in fall 2025, Attleboro Public Schools is ending tuition for full-day kindergarten at all five elementary schools, which is a meaningful expansion of access that will begin just as the next cohort of kindergartners enters. The district also adopted a new K–5 literacy curriculum based on the science of reading, beginning in the 2024–25 school year, so Thomas Willett is now teaching reading with that approach. On the budget side, the city council approved a school budget for the current fiscal year that came in lower than what the district requested, leading to reductions including a cut to the high school athletic budget; how this affects elementary-level programs is not spelled out in the available material.
For a family weighing this school, the picture is one of a mid-sized elementary in a stable if moderately priced city, with academic results that have not returned to pre-pandemic levels and that trail the county median. The new literacy curriculum and the upcoming free full-day kindergarten are concrete investments worth noting. The lack of published data on economic disadvantage and special services means a direct conversation with the school is the only way to get a full sense of student support.
See more original research from School Decision →