The top reported proficiency rate is 19% in English language arts. The lowest is 16% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Miriam F Mccarthy School
Miriam F McCarthy School is a regular public elementary school in Framingham, serving kindergarten through fifth grade. It is one of several elementary schools in the Framingham Public Schools district, which sits in the MetroWest region roughly twenty miles west of Boston. The school’s enrollment is large for an elementary building, and the student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial white population and smaller shares of Black students, students of two or more races, and Asian students. Data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, receiving special education services, or classified as English learners was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school about these supports directly.
Framingham itself is a mid-sized city with a mixed suburban and commercial character. It has a notably large Brazilian American community, and major employers including Bose, Staples, and TJX are based here. The city is predominantly car-dependent, with retail corridors along Route 9 and a downtown area around Concord Street that offers some walkable civic fabric. Housing costs are high relative to national averages, reflecting pressure from the Greater Boston market. The school is located in the 01701 zip code, where home values and rents are elevated.
Academic performance at McCarthy, as measured by the state’s NextGen MCAS assessments, is weak relative to other schools in the district and well below the midpoint among school districts across Middlesex County. In the most recent testing year, the share of students scoring proficient or above in math and English language arts was in the teens, and science proficiency was similarly low. Looking back over the past several years, proficiency rates in both math and ELA have drifted downward from the low thirties and forties in the years before the pandemic to the low teens and twenties in more recent years, with a slight uptick in the most recent data. The trend suggests persistent academic challenges that a family may want to explore further with the school, particularly regarding what interventions and supports are in place. Because this is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate to consider, and the school does not offer the kind of advanced coursework or career pathways that are features of high schools.
The district underwent a notable restructuring that moved fifth grade from elementary to middle school starting in the 2022-2023 school year. However, this school’s official grade configuration still lists kindergarten through fifth grade, so a parent should verify whether that change has now been fully implemented or whether McCarthy is an exception. The district’s feeder patterns are important for families to understand when choosing a home within the school’s attendance zone.
McCarthy functions as a neighborhood elementary school in a large, diverse city with a high-cost housing market. Its academic results are well below the county median, and the downward trend over multiple years is a significant consideration. For a family weighing options, this school offers the typical elementary experience within a district that has many languages and cultures represented. The bottom-quartile proficiency standing means that a family focused on strong academic outcomes from the early grades will want to look closely at the school’s instructional approach, available supports, and how the school serves its student population.
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