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John Barry School

Public Grades PK, KG-5
241st
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 493 Connecticut Elementary Schools
Better than 51% of Connecticut elementary schools
Summary

John Barry School is an elementary school located in Meriden, Connecticut, serving 451 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Meriden School District, which is ranked 103 out of 156 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

John Barry School has shown mixed performance on standardized tests compared to the Meriden district and the state of Connecticut. While the school has outperformed the district and state in some grade levels and subjects, such as 4th-grade English Language Arts and Mathematics, it has also underperformed in others, like 3rd-grade English Language Arts. The school's performance on the Next Generation Science Standards for 5th-grade students has also been below the district and state averages. However, the school has shown strong performance for its Hispanic and English Language Learner student subgroups, ranking among the top schools in the state in these categories.

One significant concern for John Barry School is its consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 17.7% to 27.5% in recent years, which is higher than the state average. Additionally, the school serves a predominantly low-income student population, with 86.81% to 87.36% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch. When compared to other elementary schools in the Meriden district, John Barry's performance is mixed, with some schools, such as Hanover School, performing worse, while others, like Thomas Hooker School and Benjamin Franklin School, outperforming John Barry. Interestingly, the nearby Mary G. Fritz Elementary School in the Wallingford School District has consistently outperformed John Barry School on standardized tests, despite serving a lower percentage of students from low-income families.

418
Students ?
14.4
Student/teacher ratio ?
$16,862
Per pupil spending ?
86.8%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 124 Columbia St.
       Meriden, CT  06450

(203) 237-8831

District: Meriden School District


Students who attend John Barry School usually attend:

High:    Orville H. Platt High School
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
69.1%
African American:
12.2%
White:
9.6%
more
 See top rated Connecticut elementary schools

 Compare John Barry School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Improving — 9th percentile in 2015 → 51st in 2025
Strengths
Ranking is trending up — up 42 percentile points since 2015
Above the Connecticut median (51st percentile)
Worth a look
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
!Science scores 11 pts below the Connecticut average
!Near the bottom of Meriden School District's ranking
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school54%
District avg53%
Connecticut avg50%
241st of 493
Connecticut public elementary schools ?
Top 49%▲ up 42 pts since 2015
From bottom 9% (2015) to top 49% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Connecticut Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
6th of 8Elementary Schools in the Meriden School District
103rd of 156Meriden School District among Connecticut districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankConnecticut percentileRating
202553.5241 of 49351.1%★★★☆☆
202455.1225 of 49754.7%★★★☆☆
202341.5275 of 49144.0%★★☆☆☆
202229.6332 of 49032.2%★★☆☆☆
202129.5367 of 53831.8%★★☆☆☆
201949.9261 of 52250.0%★★★☆☆
201852.7264 of 53250.4%★★★☆☆
201721.7397 of 51923.5%★☆☆☆☆
201613.5431 of 51816.8%★☆☆☆☆
20158.8502 of 5518.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20138.6517 of 5577.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201211.0513 of 5649.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20117.8535 of 5655.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201019.0497 of 57914.2%★☆☆☆☆
200921.3479 of 56615.4%★☆☆☆☆
200815.9495 of 56512.4%★☆☆☆☆
200712.1513 of 5689.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20067.3540 of 5705.3%☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankConnecticut percentileRating
202587.81 of 683.3%★★★★★
202168.55 of 3485.3%★★★★☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankConnecticut percentileRating
202435.4160 of 23732.5%★★☆☆☆
202329.1162 of 23029.6%★☆☆☆☆
202221.7191 of 23418.4%★☆☆☆☆
202124.4334 of 45526.6%★☆☆☆☆
201932.0177 of 24226.9%★☆☆☆☆
201850.7149 of 25942.5%★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankConnecticut percentileRating
202583.516 of 13287.9%★★★★☆
202492.111 of 11190.1%★★★★★
202380.713 of 10888.0%★★★★☆
202270.218 of 9981.8%★★★★☆
202167.839 of 17377.5%★★★★☆
201988.45 of 11295.5%★★★★★
201889.73 of 10197.0%★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankConnecticut percentileRating
202163.386 of 30271.5%★★★★☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankConnecticut percentileRating
202552.0138 of 23942.3%★★☆☆☆
202449.6138 of 23340.8%★★☆☆☆
202328.7166 of 23128.1%★☆☆☆☆
202220.1189 of 23218.5%★☆☆☆☆
202126.2318 of 44528.5%★☆☆☆☆
201946.9149 of 24739.7%★★☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankConnecticut percentileRating
202159.0131 of 37164.7%★★★☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Hispanic (2025)88th percentile+37 vs school
English Language Learner (2025)83rd percentile+32 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2021)72nd percentile+40 vs school
Special Education (2021)65th percentile+33 vs school
Male (2025)42nd percentile-9 vs school
Female (2024)32nd percentile-22 vs school
By subject vs Connecticut (2024-2025) ?
Mathematics63%+13 vs state
English Language Arts51%~ state avg
Science41%-11 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about John Barry School

Students who attend John Barry School usually go on to attend:

High : Orville H. Platt High School

In the 2024-25 school year, 418 students attended John Barry School.

Students at John Barry School are 69% Hispanic, 12% African American, 10% White, 7% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

John Barry School ranks 241st of 493 Connecticut elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Connecticut Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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