Summary:
The Guilford School District in Connecticut serves approximately 3,051 students across 7 schools — 4 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, and 1 high school — and ranks 54th out of 153 districts statewide, placing it in the 65th percentile with a generally strong academic profile. With free/reduced-price lunch rates consistently between 13% and 15%, the district is relatively affluent, and most schools outperform Connecticut state averages by wide margins, though performance varies from the 57th to 97th percentile depending on school and year.
The district’s standout schools are Guilford High School and E. C. Adams Middle School. Guilford High ranks in the 85th percentile (4 stars) with a 96.7% graduation rate and strong SAT/NGSS results, especially in ELA (80.5% proficient vs. 55.3% statewide). E.C. Adams has earned 5 stars for three straight years, posting exceptional 8th grade math scores (72.1% vs. 41.9% statewide). At the elementary level, Calvin Leete School is historically the top performer, ranking 14th of 497 schools (97th percentile) in its last available ranking and posting the district’s best 3rd grade scores in 2025-2026, while A.W. Cox School is a consistently solid 4-star school with low chronic absenteeism. However, Melissa Jones School is a clear outlier: its state ranking has fallen from the 81st to the 57th percentile in two years, and its 3rd grade math proficiency (44.6%) is the only score in the district below the state average.
Key concerns include chronic absenteeism, which rises sharply with grade level — from just 3.3% at Melissa Jones to 13.2% at Guilford High, the district’s highest. Math is a relative weakness at the high school and at A. Baldwin Middle School (5th grade math at 63.2%), though middle school math is otherwise strong. Year-over-year declines are visible at several schools, particularly Guilford High and Melissa Jones, where 4th grade math fell from 85.4% to 60.9%. Notably, spending and outcomes show no simple link: Melissa Jones has the lowest per-student spending but the best attendance, while Guilford High spends the most yet has the highest absenteeism. Overall, Guilford is a high-performing district with a few isolated warning signs worth monitoring.
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