The top reported proficiency rate is 24% in Math. The lowest is 13% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Lyon K-8 School
Lyon K-8 School is a regular public school serving kindergarten through eighth grade in the Brighton neighborhood of Boston. It is one of many schools within the Boston Public Schools system, and its size is small for a K-8 school. Brighton itself is a dense, walkable urban neighborhood with a mix of older housing stock and recent mixed-use development concentrated around the Boston Landing area. The neighborhood is heavily transit-served, with multiple MBTA Green Line stops, bus routes, and a commuter rail station, and its commercial core along Washington Street hosts many small businesses. The population skews young, partly because of Boston College’s presence at the western edge of the neighborhood, and housing costs are well above national averages.
The student body at Lyon K-8 is diverse. The largest share of students are Hispanic, followed by Black students, White students, Asian students, and students who identify as two or more races. The school does not report the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, nor does it report counts for students with disabilities or English learners; a parent may want to ask the school directly about these figures to understand the full picture of student support.
On state assessments, Lyon K-8’s academic performance is soft. In the most recent testing year, roughly one in four students scored at the proficient level or above in math, and roughly one in five did so in English language arts. Proficiency rates in science and in eighth-grade social studies were lower still. Looking back over time, proficiency rates in both math and ELA have declined from earlier years. Around the late 2010s, the school saw roughly half of students proficient in ELA and somewhat more than half in math; by the most recent data, those shares had dropped decisively. Because the school serves only through eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report.
Compared with other districts in Suffolk County—a set that includes Boston itself as well as neighboring communities—Lyon K-8’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits below the midpoint. The gap between the school’s performance and the average for the county is notable. Testing participation rates were high, so the results represent nearly all enrolled students in the tested grades.
Beyond testing, the data available for the school is thin. No information about course offerings, staffing ratios, discipline rates, chronic absenteeism, or programs such as arts or music was provided. The district brief for Boston Public Schools did not surface any recent district-level changes or initiatives that would directly affect this school. The school’s small enrollment and K-8 structure means that families considering it should be aware that students would need to transition to a high school after eighth grade, which for Boston residents involves a school choice process.
For a family weighing this school, the core picture is of a small, diverse urban school with a challenging academic profile. The low proficiency rates, combined with the downward trend, are worth investigating further with the school’s leadership to understand what supports and interventions are in place. The neighborhood setting offers strong transit access and a lively commercial strip, but the cost of housing is high. The school itself has limited publicly available detail beyond its demographics and test scores, so a parent would benefit from visiting, speaking with staff, and learning about classroom instruction, enrichment opportunities, and student services directly.
See more original research from School Decision →