Chatterton School, Merrick NY - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Chatterton School

Chatterton School serves pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in Merrick, a fully built South Shore suburb in Nassau County. The school sits on North Merrick Avenue in a residential neighborhood, drawing from a community that is predominantly white and relatively affluent, with fewer than one in ten students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Housing values in the zip code are elevated, reflecting the area's position as an established family suburb where single-family homes, parks with bay access, and good schools anchor the local market. The area has little new development; growth is incremental in a largely built-out place.

Academic performance on state testing is notably strong, especially in the lower grades. Third-graders achieved a near-perfect proficiency rate in English language arts and very high proficiency in math. Performance remains robust through fifth grade across both subjects. Sixth-grade results show a decline, particularly in English language arts, where proficiency drops into the low-to-mid range. Math results in sixth grade are solid, but the ELA dip may reflect the transition to secondary-level curriculum or testing. Science results in fifth grade, the only grade tested in that subject, sit in the mid-to-high range. When proficiency rates across all tested grades and subjects are averaged together, Chatterton ranks in the top quartile among Nassau County's schools, a position that reflects strength overall.

Participation rates in state assessments decline as grade level increases, dropping from mid-to-high ranges in third grade to around half of sixth-graders being tested by the time ELA is administered in that grade. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what accounts for the lower participation in upper grades and to clarify how those absences affect the school's picture of student readiness.

The enrollment is small to mid-sized for this grade band, spread relatively evenly across the eight grades served from pre-K through sixth. The school's demographics show that about three-quarters of students are white, with Hispanic students making up the next largest group at roughly one in eight, and smaller populations of Asian and Black students. Special education enrollment data was not available. English learner enrollment data was not available either.

Chatterton is part of the Merrick Union Free School District, which recently secured a capital referendum for roof and boiler replacements at two of its buildings, scheduled for summer 2027 with no additional tax burden to residents. This reflects a district managing long-term facility maintenance in a mature suburb. Students moving on from Chatterton typically attend secondary schools in the Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 398%

School 98% · District 86% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 39 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 484%

School 84% · District 88% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 578%

School 78% · District 85% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 686%

School 86% · District 82% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 41 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 3100%

School 100% · District 84% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 48 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

Grade 482%

School 82% · District 79% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 588%

School 88% · District 85% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 671%

School 71% · District 75% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Science

Grade 576%

School 76% · District 73% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 5100%

School 100% · District 99% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

This schoolMERRICK UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 5Lower-income80%Higher-income89%9 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income50%Higher-income82%32 pp gap