Best Middle Schools in Portland, CT

Portland, Connecticut is served by two public middle schools within the Portland School District — Brownstone Intermediate School (grades 5–6, 217 students) and Portland Middle School (grades 7–8, 214 students) — together forming a nearly equal, cleanly split middle-level program for the town.

These two schools have complementary strengths. Brownstone is the attendance standout, with just 9.2% chronic absenteeism compared to Portland Middle’s 16.9% and the state average of 16.4%. Academically, Brownstone posts excellent 6th grade scores: 72.7% proficient in ELA and 67.7% in math, both far above state averages. Portland Middle, however, holds the higher state profile, ranking 62nd out of 258 Connecticut middle schools with a 4-star rating. Its 7th grade ELA proficiency of 79.8% is the single best score in the dataset, and 8th grade science is strong at 65.7%. Notably, every reported test score at both schools exceeds the Connecticut state average, with the only narrow margin being 8th grade math at Portland Middle (42.6% vs. 41.9% statewide). Economic differences also appear: Portland Middle has a higher free/reduced lunch rate (32.7% vs. 25.8%), and per-student spending is higher at Brownstone ($17,647 vs. $15,708).

The biggest area for attention is 8th grade math, which drops sharply from 7th grade’s 62.6% proficiency to 42.6%, the lowest score in the dataset. Meanwhile, Portland Middle improved dramatically year over year, with 7th grade ELA rising 14.4 points and 7th grade math rising 14.5 points. The district itself ranks in the 55th percentile statewide, yet both middle schools outperform state averages in nearly every subject, making the middle level a relative bright spot. For parents, the picture is encouraging: a stable, high-attendance intermediate school feeding into a higher-ranked upper middle school, with strong academics overall and clear room to improve in upper-grade math.