Summary:
The Tolland School District in Connecticut serves approximately 2,122 students across four schools—two elementary schools (Birch Grove Primary School and Tolland Intermediate School), one middle school, and one high school—from Pre-K through Grade 12. Three of the four schools hold four-star ratings, and the district as a whole ranks 40th out of 153 Connecticut districts. Among the schools with test data, Tolland Intermediate School stands out academically, with 2025-26 proficiency averages of 73.4% in ELA, 78.1% in math, and 78.5% in science—far above state averages. Meanwhile, Birch Grove Primary School posts the district’s best attendance, with just 1.9% chronic absenteeism compared to the state’s 16.4%, even though it has the district’s highest free/reduced lunch rate.
A clear concern emerges in middle and high school math. When students move from elementary to middle school, math proficiency drops sharply: fifth graders at 74.4% fell to 61.1% as sixth graders, and sixth graders at 66.4% dropped to 51.4% as seventh graders. Tolland Middle School spends the most per student ($17,840) and has the lowest student-teacher ratio (10.5), yet its math proficiency averages 59.2% versus 78.1% at Tolland Intermediate, which spends less and has larger classes. At Tolland High School, SAT math proficiency is just 41.9%—well above the state’s 31.3% but far below the school’s own ELA score of 76.6%, and the math score fell from 48.8% the prior year. The high school also drives the district’s absenteeism problem, with an 18.3% chronic absenteeism rate, more than double the district’s 8.1% average.
Despite these challenges, Tolland High School maintains a strong 96.2% graduation rate, and ELA proficiency is above state averages at every grade level. The district’s own 4-star rating and 74th-percentile rank reflect a solid foundation. The most actionable opportunities are reversing the middle school math slide and addressing high school absenteeism; if those improve, Tolland could become one of Connecticut’s top districts.
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