The top reported proficiency rate is 55% in Math. The lowest is 46% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Martinson Elementary
Martinson Elementary is one of five elementary schools in Marshfield, a coastal South Shore town that spreads across several villages including Ocean Bluff, Brant Rock, and Marshfield Hills. This public school serves kindergarten through fifth grade and enrolls a student body that is predominantly white, with small shares of students who are Hispanic, Black, or Asian. The school sits in a town that is largely residential and car-dependent, with village-scale commercial nodes and miles of public beaches that draw summer visitors. Housing in the area is expensive, with home values well above the national median, and the town is considered affluent.
Academically, Martinson’s most recent state test results show that about half of students met proficiency standards in math, while a slightly smaller share did so in English language arts. Science results, which reflect only one tested grade, are in a similar range. These figures place the school’s overall proficiency above the midpoint when compared with other districts across Plymouth County, meaning it performs better than many of its neighbors but below the strongest performers in the area.
Looking back over recent years, Martinson’s test scores have followed a trajectory common to many Massachusetts elementary schools. In the years before the pandemic, proficiency rates in both math and ELA were higher, with ELA reaching roughly three-quarters of students and math around two-thirds. After the disruption of 2020, rates dropped and have not fully recovered. The most recent year shows a slight uptick in ELA from the prior year, while math held steady. A parent may want to ask the school about the strategies it is using to lift achievement back toward pre-pandemic levels and about support for students who are not yet at proficiency.
The school’s enrollment is moderate for its grade band, with about four hundred fifty students spread across kindergarten through grade five. Class sizes and staffing levels were not available in the data, so a family would want to check directly with the school for specifics. Information on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, as well as the number of students with disabilities or English learners, was also not reported here, which limits a full picture of the school’s support needs.
Martinson is a regular public school with no special charter or magnet designation. It does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. The district, Marshfield Public Schools, operates a middle school and a high school that students feed into after elementary. No recent major changes or initiatives were found in the district brief, suggesting a period of relative stability.
For a family considering this school, Martinson offers a solid academic foundation in a well-regarded district. The town itself provides a classic New England coastal setting with strong civic anchors including beaches, wildlife sanctuaries, and a town meeting form of government. The main trade-off is cost: housing is expensive relative to the national average, and the town’s spread-out layout makes a car necessary for most errands and commuting. Parents who value a middle-of-the-pack proficiency profile in a stable, suburban coastal community will find Martinson a reasonable fit, though those seeking top-tier test scores may want to look more closely at the school’s interventions and enrichment offerings.
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