The top reported proficiency rate is 71% in Math. The lowest is 69% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Edith C Baker
Edith C Baker is a regular public school serving kindergarten through eighth grade in Chestnut Hill, a wealthy residential village that spans parts of Brookline, Newton, and Boston. Baker is part of the Brookline Public Schools, and its location places it in a high-cost housing market defined by historic estates, Boston College’s campus, and a retail corridor along Route 9 anchored by the open-air Chestnut Hill shopping district. The school’s student body is racially and ethnically diverse: White students form the largest single group, with a substantial Asian enrollment and smaller but meaningful shares of Hispanic, Black, and multiracial students. Data on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, special education, and English learner status were not reported in the available records, so families evaluating support services may want to ask the school directly about those populations.
On state assessments, Baker’s students perform at a level that places the school in the top quartile of all districts in Norfolk County for overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. The most recent results show that a strong majority of test takers score at proficient or above in English language arts, mathematics, science, and, for eighth graders, social studies. This is a school where academic expectations are high and most students are meeting them. At the same time, the trend data available indicates that proficiency rates have settled at these levels after being higher in the years before the pandemic. In both ELA and math, proficiency was in the high-seventy to low-eighty percent range for the three years ending in 2019; by 2021 and into the most recent year, the rates ran in the sixty-nine to seventy-two percent range, where they have stayed. That is not a weak performance by regional standards, but the decline is real and sustained. A parent may want to understand what the school is doing to address this shift.
Because Baker serves only kindergarten through eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. The school’s grade band also means that course access data like AP or dual enrollment do not apply.
The community context matters for families considering this school. Chestnut Hill is a high-cost area. Home values in the zip code are among the highest in the state, and rents are correspondingly elevated. The residential neighborhoods are largely built out, with multiple historic districts preserving the estate character and limiting new development. Walkability is uneven: the Chestnut Hill Reservoir offers a paved trail and some pedestrian connections near Boston College, but much of the village is auto-oriented on winding roads. The MBTA Green Line provides direct access to downtown Boston via two stations in the village.
A recent district-level development could affect the school’s future enrollment. In May 2026, Brookline Town Meeting approved zoning for the Chestnut Hill Commercial Overlay District, authorizing a major mixed-use redevelopment of the Chestnut Hill Office Park on Boylston Street. The project is expected to add hundreds of apartments and condos, a hotel, medical office space, and retail, and it is projected to generate significant net annual revenue for the town. Any substantial increase in housing units within Baker’s attendance zone would likely bring more families and shift the enrollment profile, so parents moving into the area may want to track how this plan progresses.
Overall, Baker offers a strong academic track record within a top-performing district, set in a high-cost, low-density, well-resourced suburban environment. The school’s diverse student body and consistently high proficiency rates are clear assets, though the post-pandemic leveling of test scores and the absence of detailed data on student support populations are worth a closer look from any family considering the school.
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