The top reported proficiency rate is 51% in Math. The lowest is 13% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Farrington School
Farrington School sits on Eastern Avenue in Augusta, serving students from kindergarten through sixth grade as one of four neighborhood elementary schools in the Augusta Public Schools district. It is a conventional public school, not a charter or magnet, and its enrollment places it in the mid-range for a Maine elementary school. The student body is predominantly white, with small numbers of Asian, Black, Hispanic, and multiracial students. Just over half the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, pointing to a working- and middle-class community where a substantial share of families face economic constraints.
Academically, Farrington's most recent state assessment results tell a mixed story. In math, roughly half of tested students in grades three through eight reached proficiency, a result that sits in a moderate range for Maine schools. English language arts was slightly below that mark, with fewer than half of tested students demonstrating proficiency. Science stands out as a clear soft spot: proficiency was quite low, though only a small number of students were tested in that subject, which can make a single cohort's results swing dramatically. Participation was full or near-full across all three subjects. A parent weighing these results may want to ask the school how it supports literacy and science instruction in particular, and whether the science figure reflects a broader pattern or a single year's cohort. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is hard to say whether these results are improving, holding steady, or slipping over time.
The school has no graduation rate, AP or dual-credit offerings, or career pathway programs, which is expected given that it serves only elementary and early middle grades. Data on special education enrollment, English learner services, discipline, staffing ratios, attendance, and course access was not available in the materials provided, so those dimensions of the school environment could not be assessed here. Program offerings were also not reported.
Augusta itself is Maine's capital city, and that identity shapes daily life for families at Farrington. State government is the dominant employer, with the State House and associated agencies clustered downtown along the Kennebec River. Health care, retail, and the University of Maine at Augusta round out the major employment sectors. The city is auto-oriented overall; most daily errands require a car, though the Kennebec River Rail Trail offers a pedestrian and bicycle corridor along the water. Residential neighborhoods are dispersed across a sizable city footprint, and public elementary schools are distributed through those neighborhoods rather than concentrated downtown. Farrington's location on the east side places it in one of the city's established residential areas.
The housing market around the school is relatively accessible by Maine standards. Home values in the school's zip code run well below the statewide benchmark and below the national benchmark, and the price-to-income ratio is modest. Rents have been rising recently, though rent relative to local income remains within a manageable range for many households. The broader community has an aging population and modest growth trajectory, with no rapid expansion on the horizon.
A notable recent chapter in the district's life: Augusta voters were asked three times in 2024 to approve consolidating the city's four elementary schools into two buildings, and all three attempts failed. That outcome means Farrington continues to operate as a standalone neighborhood school, preserving the current structure of school assignments and community identity that families know. The district's budget passed in the same cycle, keeping funding in place for current operations.
For a family considering Farrington, the school offers a conventional neighborhood elementary experience in a small capital city where housing is relatively affordable and the commute to state and health-care jobs is short. The academic results are middling in math, weaker in literacy and science, and the absence of trend data makes it difficult to judge direction. The questions a parent would want to take directly to the school are about literacy and science support, classroom resources, and how the school serves its substantial population of students from lower-income families.
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