The top reported proficiency rate is 38% in Math. The lowest is 30% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Williams Intermediate School
Williams Intermediate School is a regular public school serving grades three through five in Bridgewater, part of the Bridgewater-Raynham Regional School District. It sits off South Street in a primarily residential section of town, and its student body draws from the broader Bridgewater community and surrounding areas that feed into the regional district.
On the Massachusetts NextGen MCAS assessments, Williams’s most recent results place overall proficiency across tested subjects well below the median for districts in Plymouth County, in the bottom quartile of that comparison set. In math, about two out of every five students scored proficient or above in the 2024-25 school year; in English language arts, roughly three out of every ten did. Science results, which come from a smaller testing group within the school, land in a similar range. The school’s participation rates on these exams were very high, a positive sign that nearly all students were assessed.
The trend over time is important context. A decade ago, in the 2016-17 school year, ELA proficiency stood above the halfway mark, and math proficiency was in a similar range. Those figures held through the 2018-19 school year, with math reaching its strongest point in that period. After the pandemic disruptions of 2020-21, which saw a dip, proficiency in both subjects began a steady decline. ELA has dropped by roughly half its earlier level over the intervening years; math has fallen by about a third from its 2019 high. The 2024-25 results are the lowest in the available record for both subjects. This multi-year pattern suggests that the school is grappling with challenges that have not yet reversed, and a parent may want to understand what academic supports and interventions are in place.
Demographically, the student body is predominantly white, with Black and Hispanic students each representing a meaningful share of the enrollment, and smaller groups of Asian and multiracial students. The number of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, receive special education services, or are English learners was not reported in the data, so a family looking to understand the school’s support landscape for those populations should ask the school directly for that information. The school is not a charter or magnet, and Title I status was not available in the data.
Bridgewater itself is a historic residential community roughly an hour south of Boston, with a suburban, car-dependent layout. Its population is in the tens of thousands, and the town’s character is shaped by two large institutional anchors: Bridgewater State University, which brings thousands of students and staff to the area, and the Bridgewater Correctional Complex, a cluster of state correctional facilities. Owner-occupied housing makes up a large share of the market, and home values and rents are elevated relative to national averages, reflecting the pressure of the Greater Boston region. The town has a walkable core around the Town Common and a commuter rail station on the MBTA Fall River/New Bedford line at the university campus, but most daily errands and school drop-offs require a car.
The housing market in the zip code that covers Williams shows home values that are above the state benchmark and well above the national benchmark. Rental costs are modestly higher than the mortgage equivalent in this market, and the county as a whole has seen active inventory and new listings increase over the past year, with median days on market fairly low. For families considering moving into the area, the cost of housing is a real consideration, and the school’s performance trends are another factor to weigh against the community’s suburban amenities and Boston access.
Overall, Williams Intermediate School provides an upper-elementary education in a regional district serving a mix of suburban and semi-rural communities. Its proficiency numbers have been on a downward trajectory for several years, and it sits at the lower end of the proficiency spectrum among its county peers. The school’s setting offers the advantages of a historic town with commuter rail access and a university presence, but families should expect to look into the specific academic supports, intervention strategies, and enrichment opportunities offered at Williams to get a full picture of whether it matches their child’s needs.
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