Summary:
The Old Saybrook School District is served by a single elementary school, Kathleen E. Goodwin School, which enrolls 383 students in grades PK–4. Because this is a one-school district, the school’s performance is identical to the district’s for most academic metrics. The school holds a 3-star rating and ranks in the 67th percentile of Connecticut elementary schools for 2025–2026, a solid improvement from the 50th percentile the year before.
For parents, the big picture is positive. English Language Arts is a clear strength, with proficiency rates well above state averages in both 3rd and 4th grades — 67.7% and 70.9% respectively in 2025–2026, compared to roughly 47–51% statewide. Chronic absenteeism is remarkably low at 5.6%, far better than the state rate of 16.4%, and the student-teacher ratio of 9.6 suggests students get plenty of attention. The school also made a dramatic leap in 3rd grade math, from 46.4% to 75.8% proficiency in one year, now sitting more than 23 points above the state average.
The main concern is 4th grade math. Proficiency there dropped slightly to 49.1% in 2025–2026, below the state average of 52.1% and a sharp contrast to the school’s own 3rd grade math success. That creates a 26.7-point internal gap between grade levels, which may reflect cohort differences or a targeted instructional need. The school also benefits from a low free/reduced lunch rate (22.45%) and meaningful per-pupil spending ($22,092, though that figure is from 2018–2019). With only one school and small class sizes, year-to-year swings can happen, but overall this is a well-performing school with one specific area — 4th grade math — worth watching closely.
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