The top reported proficiency rate is 74% in Science. The lowest is 54% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Franklin
Franklin is a regular public elementary school in West Newton, one of thirteen villages within the city of Newton. It serves kindergarten through fifth grade and feeds into the Newton Public Schools district. With an enrollment that is moderate for an elementary building serving this grade band, the school draws from a village that has historically mixed more modest homes north of Washington Street with larger mansions on West Newton Hill to the south, creating a student body that reflects some of that economic diversity.
On state assessments in the most recent testing year, Franklin's students performed above the midpoint among districts in Middlesex County when considering overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. In math, just over half of students scored at the proficient or advanced level. In English language arts, a similar share reached that benchmark. Science results, tested in grades three through eight, were higher, with a substantial majority of students meeting proficiency. Participation on test days was nearly universal. Looking over the longer arc, the school’s proficiency rates in both ELA and math have been lower in recent years compared with pre-pandemic peaks. In the 2018-19 school year, about four out of five students were proficient in ELA, and roughly three out of four in math. By the most recent year, those figures had declined, and while there was some recovery in math after 2021-22, the overall trend has been a gradual settling at levels below where the school stood five years ago. A parent moving here may want to ask the school about current instructional strategies and how they are addressing this pattern.
The student body is predominantly white, with Asian students forming the next largest group, followed by students who are Hispanic, two or more races, and Black. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, on students with individualized education programs, and on English learners were not available in the source data, so a clear picture of the school’s economic and special-education makeup is incomplete. Those are details a prospective family would likely want to confirm directly with the school or the district.
West Newton itself is a walkable village center with a mix of local shops, restaurants, the West Newton Cinema, and civic institutions like the police headquarters and district court clustered in the square. The MBTA commuter rail station and bus routes connect the village to downtown Boston. Housing values in the area are high, well above state and national medians, and the market has been under development pressure, with multiple proposed projects that would increase density in the village center. Families should anticipate that living within Franklin’s attendance zone requires a significant housing investment, though the village’s historic character and access to transit are draws. The district brief for Newton did not identify any recent system-wide changes of lasting impact to parents, so the neighborhood school assignment and programming appear stable at this time.
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