The top reported proficiency rate is 48% in English language arts. The lowest is 31% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Gaudet Learning Academy
Gaudet Learning Academy is a two-grade public school serving fourth and fifth graders in Middletown, Rhode Island, on Aquidneck Island. It shares its building with Joseph H. Gaudet Middle School, which serves grades six through eight, and the town is actively building a new middle-high school just north of the existing campus. That construction, publicly described as a project meant to reshape Middletown education for years to come, means families enrolling now may see the campus environment evolve during their time here.
Middletown itself sits between Newport and Portsmouth, a town of residential neighborhoods, commercial corridors, and open space. The local economy leans heavily on Naval Station Newport and the defense sector. The built environment is suburban and car-oriented, with East Main Road and West Main Road carrying most commercial life. The town retains a semi-agricultural character on its eastern side, while the western side holds most development. Parks, beaches, and trails are plentiful, but there is no concentrated pedestrian downtown. The town's population has declined modestly since the 2020 census.
Housing in the school's zip code is expensive relative to both state and national benchmarks, with typical home values well above the Rhode Island median and far above the national figure. Rents are also steep, and the price-to-income ratio is high. A family considering the area should expect Middletown's housing costs to be a real factor in the decision, with owning considerably costlier than renting at current mortgage rates.
On state assessments, Gaudet Learning Academy's most recent results show a clear gap between subjects. English language arts proficiency sits at a moderate level, with roughly half of tested students meeting or exceeding expectations. Math is the weaker area, with a smaller share of students reaching proficiency. Science, tested only in fifth grade, landed in between. Participation rates were high across all three subjects. Only one year of assessment data is available, so there is no trend to report. The gap between ELA and math outcomes is the kind of pattern a parent may want to look into further with the school, asking how instruction and intervention differ between the two subjects.
The school is small by design, with roughly equal enrollment across its two grades. About a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a moderate level for the area. The student body is majority white, with a sizable Hispanic population and smaller groups of Black, Asian, multiracial, and American Indian or Alaska Native students. Data on individualized education programs and English learners was not available, so those population sizes remain unknown.
Several categories of information were missing entirely. No discipline data, course access details, staffing figures, or attendance records were provided. Title I status was not reported. The school's locale classification was absent. No neighbor comparison fact-set was available to position Gaudet against nearby schools. We looked for the district's strategic priorities or recent parent-relevant changes but found little, so that is left out rather than guessed.
Because Gaudet serves only grades four and five, certain metrics simply do not apply. There is no graduation rate, no high school course catalog, no college or career data. State science testing happens only in grade five, so only that grade's results appear. These gaps reflect the school's grade band, not a lack of reporting on the school's part.
For a family, Gaudet represents a transitional academic placement, a two-year bridge between elementary school and middle school within a single building complex. The strengths are in English language arts, where proficiency is solid, and in a community with strong civic amenities and a major school construction project that signals investment in the district's future. The clear soft spot is mathematics. The housing market is demanding. And the available data, while thin in several areas, paints a picture of a small, moderately diverse school serving as a stepping stone in a town anchored by the Navy and shaped by its island geography.
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