The top reported proficiency rate is 49% in Social studies. The lowest is 39% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Madeleine Dugger Andrews
Madeleine Dugger Andrews is a public middle school serving grades six through eight in Medford, Massachusetts. The school sits within a city that is primarily residential, home to Tufts University and threaded by the Mystic River, with multiple walkable commercial squares and three MBTA subway stations that connect the community to greater Boston. The student body is racially and ethnically diverse, with White students forming the largest group and substantial shares of Hispanic, Black, and Asian students also represented. The school is a regular public school within the Medford district and does not have charter or magnet status; data on the share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch was not available.
On the Massachusetts NextGen MCAS assessments from the most recent year, about two out of every five students scored at the proficient level or above in math, while a slightly larger share achieved that mark in English language arts. In science and in social studies (the latter tested in grade eight only), the proficiency rates were higher, though still below the majority mark. Against the full set of school districts in Middlesex County, the school’s combined proficiency across tested subjects falls below the midpoint of the comparison group; families looking for a school with broadly middle-of-the-pack or higher test numbers should note where this one stands relative to its regional peers.
A look at the trend lines over the past several years shows a clear pattern. Before the pandemic, the school’s math and English language arts proficiency rates were higher than they are now, with math hovering around the half mark and English around the mid to upper half. After 2020-21, both subjects settled at lower levels and have stayed there. Math proficiency has remained steady at close to two-fifths of students for the past several cycles, and English has been in the low-to-mid forties range, with a slight uptick in the most recent year. A parent considering the school will want to understand whether the district has strategies in place to recover the ground lost in the post-pandemic years, as the numbers suggest a plateau rather than a clear upward trajectory.
The school environment itself is that of a standard public middle school with a grade-six-through-eight configuration. Data on discipline, chronic absenteeism, course access, and staffing were not available in the source materials, so those dimensions of the school experience cannot be assessed here. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report.
For families thinking about housing, the Medford area is an expensive market. Home values are well above national benchmarks, and rents are high relative to incomes. The broader Middlesex County market shows a relatively low inventory of homes for sale, with a median listing price in a range that makes the area a significant financial commitment. The district has several active developments that may interest families. Medford Public Schools recently shifted its elementary literacy curriculum to evidence-based reading instruction aligned with the science of reading, a district-wide change now fully implemented. The Massachusetts School Building Authority accepted the district into its Core Program for a potential replacement of Missituk Elementary School, which faces aging infrastructure and enrollment pressures; if the project advances, it would require a debt exclusion vote that would temporarily raise property taxes. Additionally, a 2023 enrollment and space utilization study found several elementary schools near capacity, and while no redistricting has been implemented, boundary adjustments have been discussed as a long-term possibility. These district-level developments mean that families should pay attention to which elementary zone a home falls in and be aware that the pipeline for major school construction is just beginning.
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