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Dunbar Hill School

Public Grades PK, KG-6

419^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 491 Connecticut Elementary Schools

Better than 15% of Connecticut elementary schools

Summary

Dunbar Hill School is a small PreK-6 elementary school in Hamden, CT, serving 271 students as part of the Hamden School District. The school currently holds a 1-star rating and ranks in the 15th percentile statewide, placing it in the bottom quarter of Connecticut elementary schools. Its ranking has declined steadily over the past decade, falling from the 36th percentile in 2015-2016 to the 11th percentile in 2024-2025, with a slight rebound to 15th percentile for 2025-2026.

Academically, Dunbar Hill's proficiency rates trail both the Hamden district and Connecticut state averages in nearly every subject and grade. For example, only 16.7% of third graders met the ELA bar, compared to 35.4% for the district and 47.3% statewide, and Grade 5 science proficiency sits at 27.5% versus 41.9% for the district. The contrast with nearby schools is striking. Ridge Road Elementary in North Haven, just 2.4 miles away, ranks in the 81st percentile with Grade 3 ELA proficiency of 74.6%. Even within Hamden, Spring Glen School ranks in the 59th percentile, while Dunbar Hill (15th) sits above only Church Street School (9th) among district elementary schools. Shepherd Glen School, with a similar poverty rate, posted 42.5% third-grade ELA proficiency versus Dunbar Hill's 16.7%.

Despite the low test scores, Dunbar Hill has some notable strengths. Chronic absenteeism has dropped from 24.5% in 2021-2022 to 12.9% in 2025-2026, now better than both the district (21.5%) and state (16.4%) averages. The school also spends about $20,942 per student with a favorable 12.9:1 student-teacher ratio. A few years ago, the school earned 3-star ratings for its special education and low-income student subgroups, suggesting particular strengths in supporting those populations. One cohort of sixth graders posted a 56.7% ELA proficiency rate in 2023-2024, beating both the district and state. These bright spots, however, haven't yet translated into consistently higher overall achievement.

271

Students ?

12.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$24,654

Per pupil spending ?

51.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

315 Lane St.
Hamden, CT 06514

(203) 407-2025

District: Hamden School District

Students who attend Dunbar Hill School usually attend:

Middle:	Hamden Middle School
High:	Hamden High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

36.5%

African American:

34.7%

White:

13.7%

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At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 36th percentile in 2016 → 15th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Connecticut average (24% vs 49% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (15th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 21 percentile points since 2016

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school24%

District avg38%

Connecticut avg49%

419^th of 491

Connecticut public elementary schools ?

Bottom 15%▼ down 21 pts since 2016

From bottom 36% (2016) to bottom 15% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Connecticut Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

7^th of 8Elementary Schools in the Hamden School District

132^nd of 153Hamden School District among Connecticut districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2026	11.5	419 of 491	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	9.4	439 of 493	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.7	364 of 497	26.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	12.9	409 of 491	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.4	397 of 490	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	23.7	400 of 538	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.2	365 of 522	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	36.3	343 of 532	35.5%	★★☆☆☆
2017	34.4	343 of 519	33.9%	★★☆☆☆
2016	33.9	333 of 518	35.7%	★★☆☆☆
2015	40.6	355 of 551	35.6%	★★☆☆☆
2013	35.8	419 of 557	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	37.0	428 of 564	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	44.8	394 of 565	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2010	32.8	455 of 579	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	20.5	482 of 566	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	25.5	469 of 565	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	31.8	445 of 568	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	35.4	425 of 570	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2021	53.5	128 of 302	57.6%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2021	54.3	153 of 371	58.8%	★★★☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Special Education (2021)59th percentile+33 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2021)58th percentile+32 vs school

By subject vs Connecticut (2025-2026) ?

Science28%-25 vs state

English Language Arts23%-27 vs state

Mathematics22%-23 vs state

★

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Schools Near Dunbar Hill School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				NGSS Science (2026)	SBAC English Language Arts (2026)						SBAC Mathematics (2026)					Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	NGSS Science 5th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 3rd Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 4th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 5th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 6th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 7th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 8th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 3rd Grade	SBAC Mathematics 4th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 5th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 6th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 8th Grade	Total
Dunbar Hill School	Public	PK, KG-6	315 Lane St.	Hamden	06514	South Central Connecticut Planning Region	Hamden School District	No	No	No	Yes	(203) 407-2025	271	21	12.9	51.7%	37 (13.7%)	94 (34.7%)	99 (36.5%)	9 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (11.4%)	11.5	419^th of 491 public elementary schools	14.7%		9.4	439^th of 493 public elementary schools	11.0%	20	27.5	16.7		30.0						25.0	18.4		$24,654
Church Street School	Public	PK, KG-6	95 Church St.	Hamden	06514	South Central Connecticut Planning Region	Hamden School District	No	No	No	Yes	(203) 407-2020	334	22	14.9	60.8%	15 (4.5%)	126 (37.7%)	172 (51.5%)	8 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.9%)	7.9	449^th of 491 public elementary schools	8.6%		7.2	464^th of 493 public elementary schools	5.9%	15	17.9	16.7	19.0		15.0				28.6	15.4			$23,579
Helen Street School	Public	PK, KG-6	285 Helen St.	Hamden	06514	South Central Connecticut Planning Region	Hamden School District	No	No	No	Yes	(203) 407-2030	280	24	11.6	55.4%	28 (10.0%)	103 (36.8%)	114 (40.7%)	17 (6.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	17 (6.1%)	22	363^rd of 491 public elementary schools	26.1%		19.7	371^st of 493 public elementary schools	24.7%	8	20.0		25.6		31.3			64.5	33.3		20.8		$26,421
Shepherd Glen School	Public	PK, KG-6	1 Skiff St. Ext.	Hamden	06514	South Central Connecticut Planning Region	Hamden School District	No	No	No	Yes	(203) 407-2070	303	26	11.6	56.1%	47 (15.5%)	118 (38.9%)	77 (25.4%)	42 (13.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (5.9%)	28.3	337^th of 491 public elementary schools	31.4%		23.4	350^th of 493 public elementary schools	29.0%	13		42.5	18.5	44.4				65.0	25.9	39.1	28.3		$25,684
Spring Glen School	Public	PK, KG-6	1908 Whitney Ave.	Hamden	06517	South Central Connecticut Planning Region	Hamden School District	No	No	No	No	(203) 407-2045	347	28	12.6	22.2%	205 (59.1%)	41 (11.8%)	69 (19.9%)	5 (1.4%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (7.2%)	64.3	199^th of 491 public elementary schools	59.5%		68.2	182^nd of 493 public elementary schools	63.1%	17	70.0	62.5	43.5	61.7	74.5			71.9	40.3	58.3	72.3		$26,334
Bear Path School	Public	PK, KG-6	10 Kirk Rd.	Hamden	06514	South Central Connecticut Planning Region	Hamden School District	No	No	No	No	(203) 407-2015	385	29	13.2	35.1%	151 (39.2%)	83 (21.6%)	98 (25.5%)	24 (6.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (7.5%)	40.1	288^th of 491 public elementary schools	41.3%		39.8	278^th of 493 public elementary schools	43.6%	10	53.4	38.8	30.8	50.0	52.7			63.3	33.8	36.2	49.1		$25,326
King/Robinson Magnet School	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-8	150 Fournier St.	New Haven	06511	South Central Connecticut Planning Region	New Haven School District	No	Yes	No	No	(475) 220-2700	412	34	12.1	80.1%	15 (3.6%)	228 (55.3%)	119 (28.9%)	28 (6.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (5.1%)								(n/a)					21.1	17.1	24.4					14.6	$21,722
Ridge Road Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1341 Ridge Rd.	North Haven	06473	South Central Connecticut Planning Region	North Haven School District	No	No	No	No	(203) 248-4050	415	29	14.5	18.6%	260 (62.7%)	31 (7.5%)	65 (15.7%)	29 (7.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (7.0%)	82.4	92^nd of 491 public elementary schools	81.3%		83.6	80^th of 493 public elementary schools	83.8%	12	75.0	74.6	60.0	81.7				74.6	72.3	75.0			$18,791
Barack H. Obama Magnet University School	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-4	69 Farnham Ave	New Haven	06515	South Central Connecticut Planning Region	New Haven School District	No	Yes	No	Yes	(475) 220-4800	343	29	11.8	79.3%	9 (2.6%)	165 (48.1%)	154 (44.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (4.4%)	6.1	467^th of 491 public elementary schools	4.9%		5.2	482^nd of 493 public elementary schools	2.2%	15		17.0	19.2					11.3	21.2				$20,407
Ridge Hill School	Public	PK, KG-6	120 Carew Rd.	Hamden	06517	South Central Connecticut Planning Region	Hamden School District	No	No	No	Yes	(203) 407-2035	321	26	12.3	46.4%	88 (27.4%)	88 (27.4%)	86 (26.8%)	24 (7.5%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (10.6%)	36.1	306^th of 491 public elementary schools	37.7%		26.4	340^th of 493 public elementary schools	31.0%	34		48.9	26.8	39.0	49.1			44.7	26.8	48.8	43.6		$25,122

Frequently Asked Questions about Dunbar Hill School

How many students attend Dunbar Hill School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 271 students attended Dunbar Hill School.

What schools do graduates of Dunbar Hill School attend?

Students who attend Dunbar Hill School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Hamden Middle School
High : Hamden High School

What is the racial makeup of Dunbar Hill School?

Students at Dunbar Hill School are 37% Hispanic, 35% African American, 14% White, 11% Two or more races, 3% Asian.

What district is Dunbar Hill School in?

Hamden School District

Is Dunbar Hill School a good school?

Dunbar Hill School ranks in the bottom 14.7% of Connecticut elementary schools.

Rate Dunbar Hill School!

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Latest Connecticut data All new data »

2024–25 through 2025–26 attendance data & graduation ratesNewAug 31, 2026

2025–26 NGSS, SAT & SBAC test scoresNewAug 31, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataApr 2, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataNov 6, 2025

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Connecticut Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.