The top reported proficiency rate is 48% in Science. The lowest is 24% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Franklin Ave
Franklin Avenue Elementary School in Westfield, Massachusetts, is a regular public school serving kindergarten through fourth grade. It is one of five elementary schools in the Westfield Public Schools district. The school is a neighborhood elementary school, and its student body reflects the broader community. The student population is diverse, with a substantial share of students identifying as Hispanic and a similar share identifying as White, along with smaller groups of students who are Black, Asian, or of two or more races. The school is not a charter or magnet school.
Franklin Avenue is a small elementary school. Its enrollment is modest for a K-4 building. The school serves kindergarten through fourth grade, so it does not have a graduation rate, and state science testing data is from an older assessment and grade level, not a current measure. The school's academic performance on the state's NextGen MCAS assessments in the most recent testing year shows that in both math and English language arts, the share of students scoring proficient or above was below the midpoint among districts in Hampden County. The school's overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested subjects and grades, sits above the midpoint relative to districts in Hampden County, but the individual subject results are soft. In math, roughly a quarter of students met the proficient threshold, and in English language arts, a similar share did. These are low rates of proficiency. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand the academic support and instruction in place.
The school's testing history shows a clear pattern. In the years before the pandemic, proficiency rates in both math and English were higher, with math reaching around half of students and English reaching a similar level. After the pandemic, rates dropped sharply and have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. The most recent year shows a slight uptick from the lowest point, but proficiency remains well below where it was several years ago. This is a school where academic recovery is still in progress.
Franklin Avenue is a neighborhood school in a city that is undergoing a significant facilities change. The school itself is being replaced. A debt exclusion approved by voters funded the city's share of a new elementary school, Westfield River Elementary School, which opened in January 2025. That new school consolidated and replaced Franklin Avenue and another older elementary school. This means Franklin Avenue as a standalone building is no longer operating as a school; the students and staff have moved to the new building. The data here reflects the school's performance and demographics before that consolidation. The new school serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, a wider grade band than Franklin Avenue's K-4.
The city of Westfield is a mix of residential, commercial, and institutional uses, split by the Westfield River. The north side has become a warehousing and distribution hub, while the south side is shaped by Westfield State University. The downtown business district caters increasingly to university students, while mainstream retail has moved to an auto-oriented commercial strip. Major employers include the university, two hospitals, and warehousing operations. The city has a traditional downtown with City Hall and Stanley Park as a major civic amenity. Traffic congestion, particularly around the Massachusetts Turnpike interchange, is a noted concern. The city is using American Rescue Plan Act funds for infrastructure improvements and has received state grants for industrial park expansion and road upgrades.
The district's FY26 budget increased over the prior year, with property taxes funding the majority of the local contribution. The new Westfield River Elementary School, which consolidates the students from Franklin Avenue and another school, was funded through a debt exclusion that raised property taxes above the usual levy limit for the life of the bonds. This means families in the district are paying higher property taxes to fund the new facility. The new school serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, a wider grade band than Franklin Avenue's K-4. For families considering this attendance area, the school they would be looking at is now the new Westfield River Elementary School, not the Franklin Avenue building. The academic data from Franklin Avenue provides a historical baseline for the student population that has now moved to the new school.
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