High Schools in Capitol Region Education Council

The Capitol Region Education Council in Connecticut oversees five high schools serving grades 6-12 and 9-12 in the Hartford area, with a total enrollment of 3,184 students. Academy of Aerospace and Engineering is the clear standout, with the highest graduation rate (97.8%), the best state ranking (25th percentile in 2025–2026), and the lowest per-student spending ($19,360) among the group. It leads in most test categories, including 8th-grade ELA (35.4%) and 11th-grade science (41.6%), yet still trails Connecticut state averages in every subject. At the other end, Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts High School - Full Day is the biggest concern: it has the lowest graduation rate (88.0%), the highest chronic absenteeism (44.7%), and no reported test data or recent ranking.

The three 6-12 schools show a mixed picture. Academy of Science and Innovation matches Aerospace in size (767 students) but posts much weaker math scores (6.1% SAT math proficiency in 2025–2026) despite a decent 96.0% graduation rate. Academy of International Studies 6-12 has the lowest chronic absenteeism of the five (28.3%) but also the lowest math proficiency in the group (5.4% in 8th-grade math). Academy of Computer Science and Engineering spends the most per student ($26,029) and serves the highest percentage of economically disadvantaged students (74.0%), yet its SAT math proficiency is just 11.7% and its chronic absenteeism is very high at 44.3%.

Collectively, these schools graduate students at rates near or above the state average (except the Arts school), but academic proficiency is dramatically below state norms, especially in math. Chronic absenteeism is more than double the state rate of 16.4% for every school, and the two 9-12 schools average about 44.5% absenteeism versus roughly 28.7% for the three 6-12 schools. Higher spending does not predict better results, as seen with Aerospace spending the least but performing the best. Given that 60–74% of students qualify for free/reduced-price lunch, these schools serve a high-poverty population, and while getting students to graduation is a meaningful achievement, the consistent gap in grade-level mastery remains the central challenge for parents to understand.