The top reported proficiency rate is 25% in English language arts. The lowest is 8% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Arlington School
Arlington School sits on Princess Avenue in Cranston, the second-largest city in Rhode Island and a suburb just south of Providence. The school serves prekindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school in the Cranston district. Cranston itself is a largely car-oriented place with a mix of residential neighborhoods, commercial retail hubs, and semirural stretches on its western side. Two major shopping and dining destinations, Garden City Center and Chapel View, anchor commercial life, while historic areas like Pawtuxet Village offer more traditional walkable street texture. Public transit is limited to RIPTA bus service, and although Amtrak and the MBTA Providence/Stoughton Line pass through the city, neither stops there. The Arlington neighborhood is one of several named subdivisions reflecting Cranston's ongoing suburban expansion, much of it driven by housing development west of the interstate.
The school's enrollment is small for an elementary serving prekindergarten through fifth grade. Its student body is predominantly Hispanic, with smaller groups identifying as white, two or more races, Asian, Black, and American Indian or Alaska Native. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not available, so those populations cannot be characterized here. Title I status was also not reported.
On state assessments, Arlington's results point to real academic challenges. English language arts proficiency sits in the lower range, with roughly a quarter of tested students meeting the state's proficiency bar. Math proficiency is markedly lower, with only a small fraction of students scoring proficient or above. Science results, measured only at fifth grade, land between the two, with about a fifth of tested students reaching proficiency. Participation was full or near-full across all subjects. The state reports only a single year of data for this school, so no trend is available; a parent looking for whether these numbers reflect a temporary dip or a longer pattern would want to ask the school directly.
No nationally standardized academic context or comparison fact-set was provided for this school, so it cannot be positioned against nearby schools in the county or state through this data. Neighbor comparison information was absent. A parent considering Arlington against other Cranston elementary schools would need to look elsewhere for that framing.
Cranston's housing market gives context for families thinking about the area. Home values in the school's zip code sit below the Rhode Island state benchmark but above the national one, and rents have been climbing while home values have held roughly flat. The estimated monthly mortgage on a typical home exceeds typical rent by a meaningful margin, which may factor into decisions for families weighing buying versus renting. The broader economy shows a stable unemployment rate and modestly rising median household income over recent years.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate, no AP or dual-credit coursework, and no career pathway data to report. These gaps reflect the grade band, not missing performance. Program offerings, extracurriculars, staffing details, discipline data, and attendance information were not available in the data provided. The district brief turned up little on recent parent-relevant changes in Cranston schools, so nothing surfaced to flag here.
What the available picture does say is that Arlington is a small, diverse elementary school serving a community with substantial economic need, and its state assessment results in math especially are low. Families for whom strong measured proficiency matters may want to look into what supports and interventions the school has in place, what the district's improvement plans look like, and how the school communicates progress to parents. The prekindergarten offering is a practical draw for families seeking an early entry point, and the school's location within a growing suburban city with relatively accessible housing compared to the state overall may matter to families weighing the full picture.
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