Best Middle Schools in Preston, CT

Preston, Connecticut is served by a single middle school, Preston Plains School, which enrolls 141 students in grades 6–8 and is part of the Preston School District, ranked 74th out of 153 districts in the state. As the only middle school in the city, Preston Plains School stands out by default, but it also has some distinctive strengths: 8th-grade math proficiency reached 53.8% in 2025–2026, nearly 12 points above the state average, and 8th-grade ELA hit 60% in 2024–2025, well above the state’s 50.7%. The school is small and well-resourced, with an 11.9:1 student-teacher ratio and per-pupil spending of $19,399, which supports its relatively strong performance in the later middle grades.

Across tested subjects, math proficiency climbs sharply from 6th to 8th grade: in 2025–2026, 6th-grade math was 31.7%, 7th-grade math was 46.0%, and 8th-grade math reached 53.8%, while state averages stayed nearly flat. This suggests the school adds real value in middle-grade math, though 6th-grade math remains a clear weak spot, running 12–13 points below the state average in both recent years. ELA results are mixed and cohort-dependent—6th and 8th grade ELA beat state averages in 2024–2025, but 7th-grade ELA in 2025–2026 fell 6.2 points below the state. Chronic absenteeism is a concern at 21.0%, above the state’s 16.4% but below the district’s 25.4%, and about 32.6% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

The school’s state ranking has slipped slightly, from the 55th percentile in 2023–2024 to the 53rd percentile in 2024–2025 and 2025–2026, though it remains a solid 3-star school. Overall, Preston Plains School offers a small, well-funded learning environment with notable success in 8th-grade math and ELA, but families should be aware of the 6th-grade math gap, elevated chronic absenteeism, and the fact that academic performance can vary noticeably from one cohort to the next.