The top reported proficiency rate is 63% in English language arts. The lowest is 45% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Christa Mcauliffe School
Christa McAuliffe School sits on North Spring Street in Concord, New Hampshire's capital city and the seat of Merrimack County. It is a regular public elementary school serving kindergarten through fifth grade, part of the Concord School District. The city combines a historic downtown commercial core along Main Street with residential neighborhoods in the North End and South End, plus the outlying villages of Penacook, Concord Heights, East Concord, and West Concord. State government is the top employer, with Concord Hospital as the largest private one, and the city functions as a center for politics, law, healthcare, and insurance. Concord Heights, east of the Merrimack River, has absorbed most of the city's newer commercial development, giving the city a mixed character split between its traditional downtown and newer auto-oriented districts.
The school enrolls a moderate number of students for an elementary building, with fairly even distribution across the six grade levels. About a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which puts the school in a moderate range for economic need. The student body is predominantly white, with a smaller Black population and small shares of students identifying as Hispanic, two or more races, or Asian. Data on individualized education programs and English learner status was not available, so those figures are left out here rather than guessed.
On state assessments, the most recent results show a real split between subjects and grade levels. In English language arts, the school performs consistently well across all three tested grades, with a clear majority of students reaching proficiency in third, fourth, and fifth grade. The results hold steady rather than fading as students move up, which speaks to solid literacy instruction through the upper elementary years. Math tells a more complicated story. Third and fourth grade math proficiency is strong, with well over half of tested students proficient in both grades. Fifth grade math, though, drops sharply, with only about a third of students reaching proficiency. That is a noticeable decline from the earlier grades and the kind of result a parent may want to look into further with the school, especially if their child is approaching the upper grades. Science is tested only in fifth grade at this level, and just under half of students were proficient, a middling result.
No multi-year trend data was available, so it is unclear whether the fifth grade math dip is a one-year occurrence or a recurring pattern. Participation rates across all tested grades and subjects were high, which means the results reflect nearly the full student body rather than a skewed subset.
The housing market in the school's zip code sits below the New Hampshire state benchmark but well above the national one. Buying a home here carries a price-to-income ratio that is elevated compared with the national figure, and estimated monthly mortgage costs run higher than rents. Renting is comparatively more manageable, with rent taking up a modest share of typical household income. Home values have been rising at a moderate pace year over year, as have rents, tracking a broader pattern of steady housing cost increases across the region.
At the district level, a major construction project is underway. In early 2024, Concord voters approved a large bond to replace Rundlett Middle School, which has long had infrastructure, HVAC, and plumbing problems. The new school will be built on a new site and is expected to open around 2027, with property tax increases for residents over the life of the bond. This is one of the largest school construction efforts in the state's history and signals that the district is investing in its facilities, though families should be aware of the tax implications.
For a parent weighing Christa McAuliffe, the picture is one of a solidly performing elementary school with dependable literacy results across the grade span and strong early math, paired with a fifth grade math result that stands out as a soft spot. The school draws from a economically diverse but largely white student population in a capital city with a stable but not booming housing market. The district is actively investing in its infrastructure, which may benefit families whose children will move through the system in coming years.
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