The top reported proficiency rate is 27% in Math. The lowest is 24% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Pentucket Lake Elementary
Pentucket Lake Elementary is a regular public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Haverhill, a mid-sized city on the Merrimack River that was once a national shoe-manufacturing center and has since diversified into electrical goods, services, and retail. The school sits on Concord Street in a residential part of the city. Haverhill itself offers MBTA commuter rail service downtown and in the Bradford neighborhood, Amtrak from the same station, and local bus service via MeVa Transit. The city has seen steady population growth and recent school construction projects, including a rebuilt middle school in Bradford and a new middle school campus under construction, though no major housing developments were detailed in available sources.
The student body is diverse. The largest group is Hispanic, making up about half of the enrollment, followed by white students at roughly a third, with Black students and small shares of Asian, multiracial, and other groups. The school is mid-sized for an elementary school. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals, receive special education services, or are English learners was not available in the records reviewed, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about these support structures.
Academic performance on the state’s Next Generation MCAS tests is below the midpoint among districts in Essex County. In the most recent testing year, about a quarter of students scored at the proficient level or above in English language arts, and a similar share did so in math. In science, only grades 5 and 8 are tested; the elementary school’s fifth-grade cohort showed proficiency at roughly the same level as the other subjects. A multi-year look back shows that the school’s proficiency rates have declined since the 2018–19 school year, when about half of students met the standard in ELA and close to that in math. The pandemic-year drop was steep, and recovery has been partial. The school’s overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quarter of elementary schools within the county’s districts, a position that is consistent with the current test results.
Because Pentucket Lake serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report. Chronic absenteeism data was also not available. The school’s civil rights reporting fields were not populated in the data we received, so a parent with specific concerns about discipline or equity would need to seek that information from the district.
The housing market in Haverhill reflects a moderately priced northeastern Massachusetts city. Home values have risen modestly over the past year. The county’s active listing inventory has increased, and median days on market are short, indicating a competitive market. Renters face a market where rent consumes a significant share of typical household income, a pattern common across the region.
Pentucket Lake Elementary is a neighborhood school with a diverse student body and academic results that are lower than most of its county peers. The trend over the past several years has been a decline from pre-pandemic levels, with no clear sign of a return to earlier performance. For a family considering this school, understanding the specific supports available for students—whether academic intervention, enrichment, or services for English learners and students with disabilities—would be an important next step, as the available data does not detail those areas.
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