The top reported proficiency rate is 63% in Math. The lowest is 55% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Dolbeare
Dolbeare is one of four elementary schools in the Wakefield public school district, serving kindergarten through fourth grade. It is a regular public school, and the data shows no charter or magnet status. Because it serves only the early elementary years, there is no graduation rate to report; state testing results are the primary academic measure available for this grade band.
The school’s enrollment includes students from kindergarten through fourth grade, with each grade level carrying a roughly similar number of students. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Hispanic students and Asian students, and very small numbers of Black students and students identifying as two or more races. Data on the share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch was not available in the provided materials, so a parent asking about economic diversity at the school will need to seek that directly from Wakefield Public Schools. Information on students with Individualized Education Programs and English learners was also absent from the data.
On the 2024-25 NextGen MCAS assessments, which are Massachusetts’s state tests, Dolbeare’s results show a mixed picture. In math, more than six in ten students scored at the proficient level or above, a rate that lands the school above the midpoint when compared with other districts in Middlesex County on an overall proficiency index. In English language arts, about fifty-five percent of students scored proficient or above. Across both subjects, participation in testing was very high. The trend data available provides a longer view. In the 2016-17 school year, math proficiency stood at fifty-five percent. It rose to sixty-two percent in the next two years, dipped during the pandemic years, and has since climbed back to the low sixties. The English language arts trend shows a similar pandemic dip, from a high of sixty-seven percent in 2018-19 to a low of thirty-seven percent in 2021-22, followed by a gradual recovery to the current fifty-five percent. A parent looking at these numbers will see a school that has not yet returned to its pre-pandemic peak in ELA, though the most recent results show continued improvement.
The school itself sits in Wakefield, a primarily residential suburban town north-northwest of Boston. The town centers on Lake Quannapowitt and Wakefield Common, which together provide recreational and civic anchors. Route 128 runs along the town’s northwestern border, and two MBTA Commuter Rail stations serve the community, connecting it to Boston. The town’s population has grown in recent years, marking a change from decades of flat numbers. Housing values in the area are high, and the local market shows elevated prices relative to national benchmarks, so families moving into Wakefield should expect a competitive market.
The district brief turned up no recent major changes such as referenda, curriculum overhauls, or property-tax shifts in the available public record. For a parent, this means the district appears to be in a period of stability without large-scale turbulence.
For a family considering Dolbeare, what emerges is a solidly performing elementary school within an established suburban district. Math scores are a relative strength, while ELA scores, though recovering, remain below the school’s own earlier highs. The student body is not especially diverse, and key economic and special-education demographic data was missing from the materials reviewed. Families will want to follow up directly with the Wakefield district on free lunch eligibility, special education support, and English learner services to get a fuller picture of the school’s full range of student needs. The school’s size and grade band mean it feeds into a middle school and then a high school within the same district, so any elementary decision is also a choice about a long-term pathway through Wakefield’s public schools.
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