The top reported proficiency rate is 36% in Math. The lowest is 30% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Tilton
Tilton is a regular public elementary school serving kindergarten through fourth grade in Haverhill, Massachusetts, part of the Haverhill school district. The school sits on Grove Street in a city that blends historic mill neighborhoods with suburban residential streets along the Merrimack River. With an enrollment that is on the smaller side for an elementary school serving those grades, Tilton’s student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a sizable White population and smaller shares of Black and multiracial students. Data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals, as well as on students with disabilities and English learners, was not available from state reporting.
A parent looking at Tilton will find academic outcomes that, in the most recent testing year, sit below the midpoint among districts in Essex County. On the state’s NextGen MCAS assessments, which cover grades three and four, math proficiency stood at roughly a third of students, while English language arts proficiency was near three in ten. These numbers come after a period of notable fluctuation. Before the pandemic, in the 2018-19 school year, proficiency in both subjects had reached about half of students. After a deep dip during the 2020-21 year, math rebounded to a similar level around half in 2023-24, then fell again. ELA has followed a lower and more uneven path, touching a low point around a fifth of students in 2022-23 before rising modestly in the most recent year. A parent may want to ask the school about what instructional supports and interventions are in place to strengthen literacy and math outcomes, especially given the variability from year to year.
Because Tilton serves only early elementary grades, there is no four-year graduation rate to report, and the school does not offer advanced coursework or career pathways that would apply to older students. The multi-year trend data gives a window into how the school has performed over time, but there is no public information on discipline rates, staffing ratios, or chronic absenteeism for this school.
Haverhill itself offers a distinctive context. It is a city of steady growth, with a downtown that retains a traditional New England streetscape and two MBTA commuter rail stations providing access to Boston. Housing values in the area are above the national median but below the state benchmark, with a mix of single-family homes and rental apartments. Rent prices have risen modestly, and the local market shows strong demand relative to supply. The city’s economy has diversified from its historic shoe-manufacturing base into services, retail, and light manufacturing, and it hosts the main campus of Northern Essex Community College. The school district itself did not have publicly reported recent strategic initiatives or notable changes, so the immediate context for Tilton is that of a stable, established elementary school in a district that has been working on middle school facilities elsewhere in the city.
For a family considering Tilton, the picture is of a school that serves a diverse, mostly Hispanic student body in an early-elementary setting where academic proficiency has been inconsistent in recent years, and where results currently fall below the midpoint of county districts. The strengths of the surrounding city include commuter connectivity to Boston, a range of housing options, and anchor institutions like the community college. A parent will want to learn more about how Tilton supports foundational reading and math skills, and what the school’s approach looks like day to day, especially since the available data leaves those details uncovered.
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