The top reported proficiency rate is 29% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Captain Samuel Brown
Captain Samuel Brown is a regular public elementary school in Peabody, Massachusetts, serving kindergarten through fifth grade under the Peabody district. Located on Lynn Street, the school enrolls a student body that is majority white, with a substantial Hispanic presence and smaller shares of Asian, Black, multiracial, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. Free or reduced-price lunch data was not reported, so the school’s economic disadvantage rate is unknown from the available information. The school is not a charter or magnet. It serves only elementary grades, so there is no graduation rate to assess; that metric does not apply here.
On the most recent state assessments, the NextGen MCAS, proficiency rates across math, English language arts, and science all landed in a similar range, each just below where roughly three in ten students met the state’s proficient-or-above bar. Massachusetts uses a four-level scoring system, and in all three subjects about seven in ten students scored in the lower two levels. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages these rates, places Captain Samuel Brown in the bottom quarter among elementary schools across the districts of Essex County. A look at the trend data shows that the school’s test results have fluctuated over the past near-decade. In English language arts, the proficiency rate moved from the high 30-percent range pre-pandemic down to around one in five in the 2021-22 school year, then gradually recovered to just under three in ten by the most recent year. Math followed a similar shape: pre-pandemic it reached the low-to-mid 30-percent range, dropped to about one in five, and has since climbed back to roughly three in ten. The current level remains below where the school stood in the late 2010s. A parent considering the school may want to ask the school or district about the specific instructional strategies and supports in place to lift achievement, particularly since the rebound has been partial.
The school environment and access data report no information on discipline, course access, or staffing. Chronic absenteeism figures were also absent, and no special population counts for students with disabilities or English learners were provided, so a parent will need to inquire directly about these dimensions of student support. The community and economic context shows that Peabody sits within a competitive housing market in Essex County, where the median listed home price has moved modestly lower year over year while demand remains strong and homes sell relatively quickly. For a family buying or renting in the area, the cost of housing is high relative to national benchmarks, and the estimated monthly mortgage payment for a median-priced home far exceeds the typical rent, a gap that reflects the broader regional affordability challenge.
The district brief turned up no sourceable recent changes such as a building project, budget override, or major curriculum overhaul. That means a family looking at Captain Samuel Brown will find a school with a stable district backdrop, no recent upheaval or major new initiative publicly reported, and no marked shifts in programming or facilities to weigh. The school’s academic profile is the primary factor to consider: proficiency rates are below the midpoint of the county’s schools, and while the trend shows some recovery from a post-pandemic low, performance has not returned to pre-2020 levels. The school has a diverse student body and, as a neighborhood elementary school, it draws from its surrounding Peabody community. A parent evaluating this school should plan to visit, ask about intervention and enrichment programs, and understand how the school supports students who are not yet meeting the state’s standards.
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