Summary:
The Meriden School District contains two high schools serving grades 9–12 — Francis T. Maloney High School with 1,291 students and Orville H. Platt High School with 1,191 students — in a district ranked 103 out of 153 Connecticut districts (33rd percentile, 2 stars), placing it in the lower-middle range statewide.
Comparatively, Francis T. Maloney High School is the stronger academic performer, earning 2 stars in each of the past three ranking years, while Orville H. Platt High School has consistently received 1 star. In 2024–2025, Maloney led Platt by significant margins: 48.9% versus 34.5% in ELA, 18.9% versus 10.1% in math, and 34.7% versus 27.6% in science. Platt, however, counters with a slightly higher graduation rate (89.8% vs. 89.1%), lower chronic absenteeism (27.3% vs. 29.2%), and higher per-student spending ($17,339 vs. $15,909). In the most recent year, Platt’s science proficiency (32.4%) also edged out Maloney’s (31.0%).
Both schools face substantial challenges. Math proficiency is alarmingly low: just 15.9% of Maloney 11th graders and 8.1% of Platt 11th graders were proficient in 2025–2026, compared with 31.3% statewide. Chronic absenteeism affects nearly one in three Maloney students and one in four Platt students — roughly double the state rate of 16.4%. Economic disadvantage is high at both schools, with over 73% of Maloney students and nearly 81% of Platt students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Notably, Platt spends $1,430 more per student yet earns lower test scores, though spending data reflects 2018–2019. For parents, Maloney is the district’s leading high school academically, while Platt shows relative strengths in attendance, graduation, and science — but both schools are working against significant odds.
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