Summary:
The New Milford School District contains one high school, New Milford High School, serving grades 9–12 with 1,150 students in New Milford, CT. Because it is the only high school in the district, its performance is the district's high school story. The school has climbed the statewide rankings over three years, from 71st to 60th place, landing in the 55th percentile with a 3-star rating. The district overall, however, is rated at the 25th percentile with 1 star, suggesting the high school is outperforming the district's elementary and middle schools.
Academically, the school's standout subject is English Language Arts, with 61.8% of 11th graders proficient, well above the state's 55.3%. Math is the clear weakness: only 30.4% of students are proficient, below the state's 31.3%, though that is a 3.4-point improvement from the prior year. Science proficiency jumped 5.3 points to 48.7%, nearly closing the gap with the state average. The graduation rate is solid at 92.2%, slightly above the state's 91.2%. The student-teacher ratio is a favorable 11.6:1, and 28% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, indicating a substantial share of economically disadvantaged families.
The most pressing concern is chronic absenteeism. At 27.0%, it is dramatically higher than the district-wide rate of 17.4% and the state average of 16.4%—meaning more than one in four students is missing significant school time. This creates a paradox: the school posts above-average graduation rates and strong ELA scores, yet a large portion of the student body is disengaged. Per-student spending was $16,023 in 2018–2019. For parents, New Milford High School offers strong literacy instruction, a supportive student-teacher ratio, and improving science scores, but math achievement and attendance remain the key areas needing attention.
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