The top reported proficiency rate is 31% in Math. The lowest is 26% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Joseph Mcavinnue
Joseph McAvinnue is a regular public elementary school in Lowell, Massachusetts, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fourth grade. Because it serves only early elementary grades, a parent will find no graduation rate or secondary-level programs here; the school’s academic picture is built entirely on state testing in math and English language arts for grades three and four.
That testing picture shows a school where most students are not yet meeting the state’s proficiency bar. On the most recent state assessments, roughly three in ten students scored at the proficient level or above in math, and roughly one in four did so in English language arts. The school’s combined proficiency across tested subjects places it in the bottom quarter when compared with other districts across Middlesex County, a large and varied county that includes many high-performing suburbs. Looking at the trend over the last handful of years, there is no clear upward or downward arc. Math proficiency fluctuated in the low twenties to low thirties, and ELA proficiency sat in the low twenties to mid-twenties. The school has essentially held steady at a level well below the countywide middle point.
The student body is diverse and reflects the broader demographics of Lowell. Just under half of the students identify as Hispanic, about one in five as white, roughly one in six as Asian, and a smaller share as Black. The remaining students identify as two or more races or Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. Data on the share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch and on students with disabilities or English learner status was not available in the source data, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those aspects of student support.
The school itself is a neighborhood elementary school located on Mammoth Road, within Lowell’s 01854 ZIP code. Housing in the area is priced at a level that falls notably below the Massachusetts statewide benchmark but sits above the national median home value. Rents in the immediate ZIP code are at a level that makes renting a more accessible option than buying, given prevailing mortgage rates. The broader Middlesex County housing market has shown signs of modest cooling; the median listing price has eased slightly year over year, and homes are spending a small number of days on market on average, indicating that demand remains present but has softened from the peak.
Lowell is an established mid-sized city with its own school district, and the district itself did not surface any major recent changes or strategic initiatives in publicly available materials, so this profile reflects the school as it stood in the most recent data cycle. Because McAvinnue covers only pre-K through grade four, families will need to plan for a transition to a middle school within the district after fourth grade. The academic data suggests that a parent whose child is performing at or above grade level may want to ask about enrichment opportunities, and a parent whose child needs additional support may want to ask about intervention services, since the building-wide numbers point to a student population that, on average, is working below state expectations.
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