The top reported proficiency rate is 65% in Science. The lowest is 48% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Forest Avenue Elementary
Forest Avenue Elementary serves students from pre-kindergarten through fourth grade in Hudson, a primarily residential suburb whose downtown has become a regional destination for craft breweries and restaurants. The school is one of several elementary buildings in the Hudson Public Schools district, and it feeds into the district’s middle and high schools. Because it serves only early elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and the academic picture comes entirely from state testing in grades three and four.
On the latest state assessments, the Massachusetts NextGen MCAS, about half of Forest Avenue students scored at the proficient level or above in both math and English language arts. That overall proficiency level sits above the midpoint when compared with other districts across Middlesex County, a large and diverse set of seventy-five districts. A parent looking at these results will see a school whose performance is solidly within the middle tier of the county, not at the top but also not at the bottom.
The multi-year trend data offers a more textured view. In the years before the pandemic, ELA proficiency had fluctuated, reaching about two-thirds of students in one pre-pandemic year. Math was similarly strong in that period. The pandemic-era results were lower, with ELA dipping to about a third of students proficient in one recent year and math holding around two-fifths. The most recent results in both subjects show a notable rebound to roughly half of students proficient, which is a positive direction, though still short of the best pre-pandemic levels. A parent may want to ask the school about what specific academic supports have been put in place to sustain this upward movement.
The student body of roughly three hundred children is predominantly white, with about one in five students identifying as Hispanic, and smaller shares of Black and Asian students. The school serves pre-K through fourth grade, with class sizes that appear moderate for an elementary school of this size. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch was not available, so a parent cannot assess the school’s economic composition from this information; that is a gap worth filling through direct inquiry.
Hudson itself has seen notable changes relevant to families. The district launched a Universal Pre-K program in the 2024-2025 school year, offering a free, half-day option for four-year-olds, which could be a factor for families with children entering pre-K. A Portuguese Dual Language Immersion Program began at another elementary school in 2021 and has been expanding by one grade each year, though this program is not at Forest Avenue. The town’s economy was historically anchored by a major Intel facility; that factory closed, but a research and development operation remains. The downtown has revitalized around food and beer, and the community retains strong ethnic clubs and a traditional New England town center.
Housing in the area commands a significant premium. The typical home value is substantially above the national median, and the mortgage-to-income ratio is high, reflecting the broader pressures of the Greater Boston housing market. Rents are also elevated. Hudson is car-dependent, with most residents commuting to Boston or Worcester, and the average commute is lengthy.
For a family considering Forest Avenue, the school offers a regular elementary program with middle-of-the-pack academic results in a high-cost suburban setting. The recent rebound in testing is a positive signal, but the prior dip means there is a recent track record of uneven performance that a parent would want to understand better. The school does not appear to offer specialized programs beyond the standard elementary curriculum; the dual-language and pre-K options are housed elsewhere in the district. The peer environment is a largely white student body with a notable Hispanic minority, set in a town with a strong Portuguese-American community. This is a straightforward neighborhood elementary school in a district that has made some recent investments in early childhood and language programming, though those are not located at this building.
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