The top reported proficiency rate is 53% in Science. The lowest is 37% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Block Island School
Block Island School is the only public school serving the island community of New Shoreham, Rhode Island, and it carries grades one through twelve under one roof. For a family considering life on Block Island, this single-school structure is the defining feature. There is no choosing between elementary buildings or middle schools, no moving a child to a regional high school after eighth grade. The same small building and the same small staff carry a child from first grade through graduation. The enrollment is very small for a school spanning twelve grades, which means each cohort entering a given grade is tiny. That has real consequences for academics, peer groups, and daily school life.
The island itself shapes everything about this school. Block Island sits roughly a dozen miles off the Rhode Island coast, and its year-round population is modest, swelling dramatically during the summer tourist season. The economy runs on tourism, beaches, bicycling, hiking, sailing, fishing, and surfing, with a concentrated commercial area near Old Harbor. A substantial portion of the island is permanently conserved open space, and the Old Harbor Historic District anchors the commercial center. For families, this means a childhood surrounded by natural beauty and a tight-knit island community, but also a degree of geographic isolation. Daily access to mainland services, specialists, and extracurricular opportunities available in larger districts requires a ferry ride. The school website is listed but program details, course catalogs, staffing figures, and extracurricular listings were not available in the data provided, so a family would want to contact the school directly to understand what is offered at the secondary level.
State assessment results from the most recent year are available for English language arts, math, and science. In ELA across grades three through eight, roughly half of tested students reached proficiency, a solid result that stands above the state midpoint. Math proficiency in the same grade band was lower, with about a third of students meeting the standard. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly whether the small cohort sizes are a factor. In science, proficiency varied sharply by grade, with a stronger showing at the eighth-grade level and a weaker one at the fifth-grade level. With so few students in each tested grade, a single child's results can move the group percentage dramatically. The participation rate was high across all tested subjects, which is a positive sign of engagement.
Demographically, the school is predominantly white with a substantial Hispanic share and very small representation from other groups. The proportion of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch is low compared with many Rhode Island schools. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not reported, so those support-service pictures are incomplete here.
The housing market on Block Island is among the most expensive in Rhode Island. The typical home value sits far above both the state and national benchmarks, and the price-to-income ratio is extreme. Rental data was not available, which is common for small island markets where year-round rentals are scarce. For a family thinking about relocating to the island, housing cost and availability are likely to be the primary practical barriers. The island's summer economy also means seasonal demand can distort what little housing stock exists.
No graduation rate was provided for this school, even though it serves through grade twelve. No civil rights or discipline data, course access information, or staffing counts were available either. These gaps likely reflect the very small size and single-school structure of the district rather than any indication of performance. A family considering Block Island School for a high school student should ask the school directly about graduation outcomes, college and career preparation, and any dual-enrollment or vocational options, since none of that information appears in the available data.
What Block Island School offers is an intimate, continuous educational experience in a remarkable natural setting, within a community where children grow up surrounded by the ocean and by neighbors who know them. The trade-off is the limited peer cohort, the modest academic results in math, and the geographic isolation that narrows access to the breadth of programming a larger district can provide. For some families that trade is well worth it. For others, the constraints will matter.
See more original research from School Decision →