Rogers Stem Academy, Lowell MA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Rogers Stem Academy

Rogers STEM Academy is a public school in Lowell, Massachusetts, serving kindergarten through eighth grade. Its name signals a focus on science, technology, engineering, and math, but the academic profile is more complex than the label might suggest.

The school is a regular public school within the Lowell district. Its enrollment is large for a K-8 building, and the student body is highly diverse. Hispanic students make up the largest share, followed by Asian and White students, with smaller populations of Black students and students of two or more races. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, receive special education services, or are English learners was not available in this profile, which limits a full picture of the student support needs. A parent may want to ask the school directly about these figures.

On state assessments, Rogers STEM Academy shows results that place it in the bottom quartile among districts in Middlesex County when considering overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. In math, roughly three in ten students scored at proficient or above on the NextGen MCAS. In English language arts, that figure was lower, at about one in five. Science proficiency was the weakest area, with roughly one in nine students meeting the bar. Eighth graders taking the social studies test showed a similar pattern, with about one in five scoring proficient.

Looking at the trend over time, math proficiency has had a volatile journey. In the years before the pandemic, the rate moved between roughly a quarter and more than a third of students proficient. It dropped sharply during the pandemic period and has been climbing back since, reaching roughly the same level in the most recent year as it was several years ago. English language arts proficiency shows a similar post-pandemic recovery, but it has not yet returned to the pre-pandemic rates, which were around a third of students proficient. The trend lines show a school that is making progress from a low point, but that recovery is uneven and has not yet matched earlier highs.

Lowell itself is a mid-sized city with a strong industrial and immigrant history. The housing market in the area around the school, as reflected in the broader Middlesex County numbers, is expensive. Home values are high relative to national averages, and rents are substantial. The county market shows a median listing price that is well above the national figure, and homes are selling relatively quickly, with a median time on the market of a few weeks. This suggests that families looking to move into the school's attendance area face a competitive and costly housing environment. The district brief for Lowell did not turn up any recent large-scale changes, program launches, or strategic shifts that have been publicly reported and are still having a lasting impact.

The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. The absence is not a weakness; it simply reflects the grade band.

For a family choosing this school, the central tension is between the STEM branding and the actual academic results. The school offers a thematic focus that may appeal to families who want that emphasis for their child. However, the proficiency numbers are well below the county median, and a parent would want to understand what supports are in place to move those numbers. The school serves a large, diverse student population, and the community around it has high housing costs. A family considering Rogers should visit, ask about the STEM programming in practice, and inquire about how the school is working to raise achievement across all subjects.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grades 3-830%

School 30% · District 31% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

English language arts

Grades 3-821%

School 21% · District 28% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

Science

Grades 3-812%

School 12% · District 21% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 46 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 821%

School 21% · District 26% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

This schoolLowell, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income18%Higher-income41%23 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income14%Higher-income14%1 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income22%Higher-income37%15 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income17%Higher-income31%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income17%Higher-income27%10 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income19%Higher-income31%12 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income23%Higher-income53%30 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income20%Higher-income21%1 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income38%Higher-income53%15 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income24%Higher-income39%15 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income27%Higher-income20%7 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income28%Higher-income40%12 pp gap