The top reported proficiency rate is 44% in English language arts. The lowest is 38% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Madison Elementary School
Madison Elementary School, located on Learners Lane in the rural Somerset County town of Madison, is a closed school. The operational status is listed as closed, which means families looking at this profile are likely reviewing it for historical context or trying to understand what happened to a school that once served this community along the Kennebec River. This narrative reflects the last available data and the community around it.
The most recent state assessment results come from the 2022-23 school year, using the Maine Through Year Assessment for grades three through eight. In math, roughly two-fifths of tested students reached proficiency. In English language arts, a slightly higher share cleared that bar. Participation was strong, with nearly all eligible students tested. Both results came during a year when the state had changed its assessment name and proficiency cut scores, so the data is not directly comparable to prior years and no clean trend could be computed. Average scale scores were not reported. A parent reviewing these results should know they represent a single point in time under a newly recalibrated test, and the school's closure means there will be no subsequent data to show whether scores were improving or declining. No multi-year trend series was available.
Enrollment and demographic data were not reported in the available records. We looked for total enrollment, grade-level breakdowns, free and reduced-price lunch rates, racial and ethnic composition, special education populations, and English learner counts, and all were missing. This means there is no picture here of who attended, how large the student body was, or what share of families needed economic support. The grade band is listed only as a single grade marker, which likely reflects how the data was recorded rather than the full range the school once served. Given that state testing covered grades three through eight, the school presumably served at least some of those grades during the year captured.
Madison itself is a small rural town spread across a large land area with low population density. It sits along the Kennebec River and was historically a mill community, with sawmills, woolen mills, and a paper mill that operated for over a century before shutting down. The paper mill closure eliminated what had been the town's dominant industrial employer. Today the local economy includes a large greenhouse operation that is one of the most prominent current employers, along with agricultural land and some light industry. The town has an older demographic profile, with a substantial portion of residents over age fifty-five. Walkability is limited, as is typical for rural Maine towns, though there is some clustering of civic functions around the town center near Weston Avenue and Old Point Avenue, including the town office, public library, and historical society. The Lakewood area on Lake Wesserunsett serves as a seasonal cultural hub, home to what is billed as the oldest continuously operating summer theater in America.
Housing in the Madison zip code is modestly priced relative to both the state and national benchmarks. The typical home value sits well below the Maine statewide figure and further below the national one, and the ratio of home price to household income is favorable compared with many parts of the country. Rent data was not available. For families considering the area, housing affordability is one of the clearer advantages, though the trade-off is limited local employment and a community that has experienced minimal growth pressure and a slight population decline over recent census cycles.
The parent district, RSU 59/MSAD 59, has been grappling with a sharp enrollment decline, and publicly reported strategic planning from late 2024 addressed this directly. The district has been working through long-term facility planning and efforts to maintain program quality with fewer students and fewer resources. At the same time, the district has been implementing a new literacy curriculum aligned with the science of reading across elementary grades, with new assessment tools and professional development for evidence-based reading instruction. Budgets have grown steadily in recent years, and per-pupil spending sits above the Maine average, with voters approving budget validation referendums. This means property taxpayers are funding rising per-pupil costs even as enrollment falls.
The closure of Madison Elementary School fits within that broader district context of declining enrollment and facility consolidation. A family looking at this profile is most likely seeing the record of a school that no longer operates, in a town that remains affordable and quiet but is navigating economic transition and demographic aging. The last academic results were middling under a new state test, and no further data will be forthcoming from this school.
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