The top reported proficiency rate is 37% in Math. The lowest is 32% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Witchcraft Heights
Witchcraft Heights Elementary sits in Salem, a compact North Shore city where tourism, a university, and a historic downtown meet residential neighborhoods. The school serves kindergarten through fifth grade and is a regular public school within the Salem district. The building is located on Frederick Street, and the grade structure is a straightforward elementary feeder for the city’s middle and high schools.
The student body is diverse in its composition. The enrollment is substantial for an elementary school that spans only six grade levels, and the racial and ethnic makeup includes a large share of students who are Hispanic and a similarly large share who are white, with smaller populations of Black, Asian, and multiracial students. 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 the source material. A parent may want to ask the school directly about those support structures and how resources are allocated.
On the Massachusetts state assessments, Witchcraft Heights shows a pattern that positions it below the midpoint when compared with other districts in Essex County, using a composite proficiency index across tested subjects. In the most recent testing year, just over a third of students scored at the proficient or above level in math, and just under a third did so in English language arts. Science proficiency, which is tested only in certain grades, came in at just over a third as well. The numbers are close across subjects, with math and science a touch higher than English. Participation in the assessments was full, so the results reflect nearly every enrolled student in the tested grades.
Looking at trends over time, the school has seen considerable fluctuation in its math and English scores. A few years before the pandemic, proficiency in both subjects was higher than it is now. Then there was a sharp drop, particularly in math, where the rate fell to its lowest point a few years ago. Since that low, both subjects have been recovering gradually, with the most recent year showing the highest math proficiency the school has posted in about six years. The English numbers have also ticked up from their pandemic-era trough, though they remain lower than where they were a decade ago. The trajectory is one of slow improvement after a difficult stretch, not a return to earlier peaks.
The broader setting matters for any family considering this school. Salem is a dense city with distinct neighborhoods, a walkable downtown waterfront, and a mix of historic residential districts and tourist-driven commerce. It is a short distance from Boston. Housing values in the area are high, reflecting the broader North Shore market, and rents are elevated as well. The local economy is anchored by Salem State University, the Peabody Essex Museum, and the tourism sector. The city has operated a stable municipal government structure for many years, and its school district serves the entire city, so Witchcraft Heights draws from its immediate neighborhood rather than from a wider attendance zone.
What is not in the source material is also worth noting. There is no data on chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, staffing ratios, or course access, which is typical for an elementary school where those metrics are less commonly disaggregated at the building level. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to consider. The district brief was absent, so broader strategic priorities or recent changes in the Salem schools were not available for this account.
For a family trying to understand the academic fit, Witchcraft Heights presents a mixed picture. The student body is diverse, the school is a standard public elementary in a historic coastal city, and the assessment results are in a recovering phase after a notable decline. The school is not among the higher-performing elementary schools in the county based on the available state test data, and a parent who values strong academic benchmarks may want to dig deeper into how the school supports students who are not yet meeting proficiency. But the recent uptick in both math and English scores suggests that the direction, at least in the short term, is positive.
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