The top reported proficiency rate is 67% in Math. The lowest is 55% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on James Mastricola Elementary School
James Mastricola Elementary School sits in the town of Merrimack, a suburban bedroom community in southern New Hampshire spread across four historic villages along the Everett Turnpike corridor between Nashua and Manchester. The school carries the name of a family whose former land now also hosts Merrimack's town hall and related municipal buildings. It is one of three elementary schools in the Merrimack School District, serving children from pre-kindergarten through fourth grade.
Merrimack itself is overwhelmingly car-dependent, with no traditional walkable downtown. Commercial life clusters around turnpike exits, most visibly at the Premium Outlets, while corporate campuses from Fidelity Investments, BAE Systems, and Anheuser-Busch give the town an unusually employment-heavy base for a New Hampshire community of its size. The Merrimack and Souhegan rivers run through town, and older village centers retain some historic character, but the built environment is largely suburban subdivisions and strip commercial connected by major roads. For a family considering this school, the setting is quiet and residential, with civic and retail functions dispersed rather than walkable.
The school's enrollment is moderate for an elementary building in this grade band. Its student body is predominantly white, with small Hispanic and multiracial populations and a handful of Asian and Black students. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, low relative to many public schools, reflecting Merrimack's generally comfortable economic profile. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not reported, so those populations cannot be characterized here.
Academic results from New Hampshire's state assessment are a clear strength. In both third and fourth grade, proficiency rates in math and English language arts sit well above state midpoints. Fourth-grade results are the stronger of the two grades across both subjects, with English language arts particularly high. Third-grade proficiency is solidly above average as well, though slightly behind fourth grade. Participation rates were near full for all tested groups. State science results were available only from an older assessment cycle under a different test, so current science performance cannot be characterized from recent data; a parent may want to ask the school how science instruction and assessment look under the current state framework.
Because the school stops at fourth grade, there is no graduation rate, no advanced coursework, and no career pathway data to report. Those measures simply do not apply to this grade band. Program offerings, course access, staffing ratios, discipline data, and attendance figures were not provided, so this account cannot speak to enrichment offerings, class sizes, or school climate beyond what the assessment and demographic data convey.
The housing market around the school is expensive relative to the state and markedly more expensive than national norms. Typical home values in the school's zip code sit above New Hampshire's statewide benchmark and far above the national one. Rents are also elevated. The broader Hillsborough County market shows high supply and demand scores, with homes moving quickly and listing prices holding in a range well above what many households can comfortably afford. Mortgage costs substantially exceed rental costs in the area, and the price-to-income ratio is steep. For families looking to buy into this attendance zone, the financial barrier is real. For renters, costs are somewhat more manageable but still reflect a relatively affluent suburban market.
The Merrimack School District itself had little publicly reported information on recent parent-relevant changes or strategic priorities, so this account leaves that gap named rather than filled.
What emerges is a picture of a conventional, strong-performing elementary school in an affluent, car-oriented suburb with a deep corporate employment base. The academic results are the clearest signal: students here are testing well above state norms in the core subjects that are measured. The peer environment is homogeneous relative to many public schools, and the surrounding community offers stability, professional employment, and quiet residential streets rather than urban density or walkable amenities. Families seeking strong early-grade academics in a settled suburban setting will find a fit here. Those prioritizing diversity, urban convenience, or information about specialized programs will want to look further, since the data does not speak to those dimensions.
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