Wallingford School District

Located in Connecticut, the Wallingford School District serves 5,087 students across 12 schools, including four PK–2 elementary schools, four grade 3–5 elementary schools, two middle schools, and two high schools. The district overall earns a 2-star rating and ranks 96 out of 153 Connecticut districts, placing it slightly below average, but individual schools vary significantly from a 4-star standout to several 2-star performers. Data on enrollment, test proficiency, chronic absenteeism, poverty rates, spending, and graduation rates reveals meaningful differences between schools.

The clear academic leader is Mary G. Fritz Elementary School of Yalesville, the district's only 4-star school, with strong SBAC math and ELA scores across grades 3–5, the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the district at 5.4%, and a relatively low free/reduced lunch rate of 30.6%. Among high schools, Lyman Hall High School has improved its rank from the 52nd to the 65th percentile and posts strong science proficiency at 65%, but struggles with math proficiency at just 29.5% and has the district's highest chronic absenteeism at 17.0%. Meanwhile, Mark T. Sheehan High School achieves a slightly higher graduation rate of 93.9% with only 9.0% chronic absenteeism. At the middle school level, Dag Hammarskjold Middle School outranks James H. Moran Middle School, beating state averages in ELA and science across most grades. Among PK–2 schools, Highland School stands out with the district's lowest poverty rate at 26.7% FRL and the second-lowest chronic absenteeism at 5.9%, though no current test data exists for these early-grade schools.

Two clear district-wide patterns emerge: science is a notable strength, with multiple schools beating state averages by 10–20 points, while math is a growing concern, especially at the high school level. Chronic absenteeism varies dramatically between schools, from Fritz's strong 5.4% to Lyman Hall's 17.0%. Notably, Pond Hill School outperforms its poverty profile, ranking in the 56th percentile despite a 40.1% FRL rate, while higher spending does not clearly predict better results—Pond Hill spends the least in the district but outperforms several schools that spend considerably more.