The top reported proficiency rate is 87% in Social studies. The lowest is 72% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Lawrence
Lawrence is a public school in Brookline serving kindergarten through eighth grade. It is one of the elementary and middle schools within the Public Schools of Brookline district. The school sits in a town that is essentially a mature, residential suburb wrapped around three sides of Boston, a place with multiple village centers such as Coolidge Corner and Brookline Village rather than a single downtown. The built environment varies: north of Route 9 the setting is fairly urban with street life and Green Line transit access, while the southern part is more suburban. Many residents work in management, medicine, and education, often commuting into Boston. The town’s population has been stable for decades, and housing prices are among the highest in Massachusetts, reflecting strong demand in a tightly constrained market.
Lawrence itself serves a student body that is notably diverse in racial and ethnic composition. The largest groups are white students and Asian students, each making up a substantial share of enrollment, followed by a smaller but meaningful share of students who identify with two or more races, along with smaller Black and Hispanic populations. Data on economic disadvantage and on students with disabilities or English learner status were not available in the records we reviewed, so a family interested in those measures would need to seek them directly from the school or district.
On the Massachusetts Next Generation MCAS assessments, Lawrence’s students post results that place the school in the top quarter of schools relative to other districts in Norfolk County when combining performance across tested subjects and grades. In the most recent testing year, proficiency rates in English language arts and mathematics were solidly above the midpoint of what the data shows across the county. Science proficiency in grades five and eight was stronger still, and eighth-grade social studies proficiency was quite high. These results have been consistent over time. In English language arts, the school’s proficiency rate has hovered in a narrow band over the past several years, with no sustained upward or downward trend. In mathematics, a gradual upward movement is visible in more recent years. The school participates in testing at very high rates, so the results reflect nearly the entire student body.
Because Lawrence serves only through eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and the school does not offer high-school-level course access such as Advanced Placement or dual enrollment. A parent choosing Lawrence knows it will feed into Brookline High School, which is part of the same district. The district itself is anticipating a potential shift in enrollment patterns due to a major mixed-use redevelopment approved for the Chestnut Hill area in 2026, which includes hundreds of new apartments and condos. That project is projected to generate new revenue for the town and could bring more families with school-age children into the district over time.
The school building is located on Francis Street in Brookline, and the town’s civic anchors include the MBTA Green Line, Larz Anderson Park, and the Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site. The district’s public profile emphasizes that Brookline is a community with a strong professional class and limited commercial land, so the school environment reflects a wider town context of high property values and established residential neighborhoods. Families who value a K-8 school with consistent academic performance in a high-cost, transit-connected suburb will find Lawrence a straightforward fit for that profile.
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