Marblehead’s Veterans Middle School ranks 30th among Massachusetts middle schools, with a score of 94.09 out of 100, according to a U.S. News and World Report study out Tuesday.
“Overall, even without this recognition/ranking, I believe that the holistic experience our students have here at Vets is truly comparable to the top middle schools in the state. We have an outstanding staff….involved families….and great students!” Principal Matt Fox wrote to the Current.
New interim superintendent Theresa McGuinness added, “Vets is a special middle school. I’m very proud of the academic achievement illustrated in the student performance data recognized by this ranking. It’s evidence of student commitment to hard work, talented educators and a standards-aligned curriculum culminating in middle school.”
At a School Committee meeting in August, Fox reported a jump in enrollment at Vets to 238 seventh graders and 211 eighth graders.
The survey’s rankings are based on federal government data on the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years, including test results.
Last year, the number of Veterans students scoring “meets or exceeds expectations” on the English Language Arts MCAS increased one percentage point over the previous year to 65%. Math scores rose five percentage points to 66% of students meeting or exceeding expectations.
Editor Leigh Blander is an experienced TV, radio and print journalist who has written hundreds of stories for local newspapers, including the Marblehead Reporter.