Summary:
Regional School District 18 serves one middle school — Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School — for grades 6 through 8, with 271 students in a suburban Connecticut district ranked 22nd out of 153 districts statewide. Because this is the district’s only middle school, its performance directly defines the district’s middle-level metrics, and the school stands out strongly against state averages across every subject and grade level.
Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School is a clear standout: 8th-grade science proficiency reached 85–92% versus a state average near 50%, and 8th-grade math hit 76.6% in 2025–2026, nearly 35 points above the state. The school also posts low chronic absenteeism at 7.9%, less than half the state rate of 16.4%, and benefits from a 10:1 student-teacher ratio and per-student spending of $24,269. With only 18.45% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, the school’s demographic and resource advantages likely support its strong outcomes, though performance should not be attributed to any single factor.
The school has trended downward in statewide rank from the 94th percentile (5 stars) in 2023–2024 to the 86th percentile (4 stars) in 2025–2026, even as absolute scores remain well above average. Scores also show notable year-to-year swings within the same grade — 6th-grade math jumped from 43.5% to 63.5%, while 7th-grade math dropped from 82.8% to 62.4% — reflecting small cohort sizes and natural variation. Overall, Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School remains a high-performing school with exceptional science and math achievement, strong attendance, and ample resources, though the recent ranking decline and score volatility are worth monitoring. For parents, this school offers consistently strong academics and a supportive learning environment, with science and 8th-grade math being particularly impressive.
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