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University High School of Science and Engineering

Q: Is University High School of Science and Engineering a good school?

University High School of Science and Engineering ranks 48 th of 133 Connecticut high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public, Magnet Grades 9-12

48^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 133 Connecticut High Schools

Better than 64% of Connecticut high schools

Summary

University High School of Science and Engineering (UHS) is a public high school in Hartford, CT, serving 406 students in grades 9–12 with a focused science and engineering curriculum. Although it operates within the Hartford School District — which ranks among the lowest-performing districts in Connecticut — UHS itself is a strong performer, ranking 48th out of 133 high schools statewide with a 3-star rating.

UHS is the clear academic leader among Hartford high schools. On 11th-grade state tests, 62.3% of UHS students met proficiency in English Language Arts, compared to 27.2% districtwide and 55.3% statewide. Science proficiency is 56.8%, above the state average of 50.5%, and math proficiency is 35.1%, also above the state average. By contrast, nearby schools like Hartford Public High School, Bulkeley High School, and Weaver High School post proficiency rates in the single digits or low teens. UHS also boasts a 96.4% graduation rate — the highest among all nearby schools and above the state average. Chronic absenteeism is just 17.6%, far below the district rate of 35.9% and comparable to the state average.

UHS achieves these results while serving a high-need population: 62.8% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school spends about $16,033 per student — less than Classical Magnet School ($17,834), Bulkeley High School ($17,975), and Bloomfield High School ($23,969) — yet outperforms all of them. Even compared to Hall High School in West Hartford, which serves a far more advantaged student body, UHS graduates a higher percentage of its students. African American students at UHS have ranked in the top 3 statewide in recent years, making the school a potential equity model. Areas for growth include math proficiency and outcomes for special education and low-income students, but the overall picture is one of resilience and effectiveness in a challenging environment.

406

Students ?

14.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$19,989

Per pupil spending ?

62.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

351 Mark Twain Drive
Hartford, CT 06112

(860) 695-9020

District: Hartford School District

Racial breakdown:

African American:

52.0%

Hispanic:

24.4%

White:

11.3%

See top rated Connecticut high schools

Compare University High School of Science and Engineering to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 67th percentile in 2016 → 64th in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Connecticut average (51% vs 46% meeting standards)

✓96% graduate in 4 years — above the Connecticut average (91%)

✓Among the top-ranked schools in Hartford School District

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school51%

District avg20%

Connecticut avg46%

48^th of 133

Connecticut public high schools ?

Top 36%▼ down 4 pts since 2016

From top 33% (2016) to top 36% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Connecticut High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 9High Schools in the Hartford School District

148^th of 153Hartford 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	62.9	48 of 133	63.9%	★★★☆☆
2025	60.1	57 of 141	59.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	70.8	43 of 145	70.3%	★★★★☆
2023	64.9	56 of 142	60.6%	★★★☆☆
2022	60.4	57 of 139	59.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	44.7	107 of 200	46.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	83.9	25 of 121	79.3%	★★★★☆
2018	64.5	56 of 121	53.7%	★★★☆☆
2017	74.4	45 of 140	67.9%	★★★☆☆
2016	72.3	43 of 132	67.4%	★★★☆☆
2015	68.5	61 of 196	68.9%	★★★☆☆
2013	64.1	95 of 193	50.8%	★★★☆☆
2012	61.4	100 of 188	46.8%	★★☆☆☆
2011	59.2	108 of 189	42.9%	★★☆☆☆
2010	59.7	105 of 186	43.5%	★★☆☆☆
2009	62.8	88 of 176	50.0%	★★★☆☆
2008	51.4	111 of 176	36.9%	★★☆☆☆
2007	64.8	90 of 176	48.9%	★★★☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2023	78.2	3 of 25	88.0%	★★★★★
2022	88.2	2 of 25	92.0%	★★★★★
2021	71.6	14 of 58	75.9%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2021	40.8	104 of 189	45.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	75.5	30 of 84	64.3%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2021	27.6	114 of 155	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2025	51.9	57 of 111	48.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	43.0	105 of 182	42.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	77.7	28 of 80	65.0%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2021	28.6	128 of 175	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2019	90.5	8 of 113	92.9%	★★★★★

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)

White (2019)93rd percentile+14 vs school

African American (2023)88th percentile+27 vs school

Male (2025)49th percentile-11 vs school

Female (2021)45th percentile~ school

Special Education (2021)27th percentile-20 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2021)26th percentile-20 vs school

By subject vs Connecticut (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts62%+7 vs state

Science57%+6 vs state

Math35%+4 vs state

★

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Schools Near University High School of Science and Engineering

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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)		SAT English Language Arts (2026)	SAT Math (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 8th Grade	NGSS Science 11th Grade	SAT English Language Arts 11th Grade	SAT Math 11th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 6th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 6th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 8th Grade	Total
University High School of Science and Engineering	Public, Magnet	9-12	351 Mark Twain Drive	Hartford	06112	Capitol Planning Region	Hartford School District	No	Yes	No	Yes	(860) 695-9020	406	28	14.5	62.8%	46 (11.3%)	211 (52.0%)	99 (24.4%)	25 (6.2%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.7%)	21 (5.2%)	62.9	48^th of 133 public high schools	63.9%		60.1	57^th of 141 public high schools	59.6%	9		56.8	62.3	35.1				$19,989
Weaver High School	Public	9-12	415 Granby St.	Hartford	06112	Capitol Planning Region	Hartford School District	No	No	No	Yes	(860) 695-1640	721	35	20.8	84.2%	6 (0.8%)	360 (49.9%)	332 (46.0%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	16 (2.2%)	13.6	117^th of 133 public high schools	12.0%		11.4	127^th of 141 public high schools	9.9%	10		11.9		13.8				$19,585
Kinsella Magnet School of Performing Arts: High School Campu	Public	9-12	415 Granby Street	Hartford	06112	Capitol Planning Region	Hartford School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(860) 695-4140	110	11	10.0	85.5%	9 (8.2%)	38 (34.5%)	54 (49.1%)	1 (0.9%)	1 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (4.5%)	12.4	121^st of 133 public high schools	9.0%					(n/a)		28.0		0.0				$27,668
Bulkeley High School	Public	9-12	300 Wethersfield Avenue	Hartford	06114	Capitol Planning Region	Hartford School District	No	No	No	Yes	(860) 695-1009	552	42	13.1	81.0%	11 (2.0%)	81 (14.7%)	444 (80.4%)	6 (1.1%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.3%)	6.4	132^nd of 133 public high schools	0.8%		3	139^th of 141 public high schools	1.4%	7			8.9	4.8				$23,041
Classical Magnet School	Public, Magnet	6-12	85 Woodland Street	Hartford	06105	Capitol Planning Region	Hartford School District	No	Yes	No	Yes	(860) 695-9100	438	33	13.2	77.4%	19 (4.3%)	168 (38.4%)	223 (50.9%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	23 (5.3%)	22	98^th of 133 public high schools	26.3%		16.6	114^th of 141 public high schools	19.1%	16	21.6	30.0	43.5	11.6	30.4	17.4	13.7	$21,652
Hall High School	Public	9-12	975 North Main St.	West Hartford	06117	Capitol Planning Region	West Hartford School District	No	No	No	No	(860) 232-4561	1,332	96	13.8	23.6%	762 (57.2%)	99 (7.4%)	255 (19.1%)	145 (10.9%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	67 (5.0%)	89.6	10^th of 133 public high schools	92.5%		92.1	10^th of 141 public high schools	92.9%			75.4	81.1	56.8				$20,778
Hartford Public High School	Public	9-12	55 Forest Street	Hartford	06105	Capitol Planning Region	Hartford School District	No	No	No	Yes	(860) 695-1497	698	69	10.1	78.2%	35 (5.0%)	121 (17.3%)	502 (71.9%)	17 (2.4%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	17 (2.4%)	5.8	133^rd of 133 public high schools	0.0%		2.5	140^th of 141 public high schools	0.7%	7		6.6	13.1	6.1				$29,353
Bloomfield High School	Public	9-12	5 Huckleberry Ln.	Bloomfield	06002	Capitol Planning Region	Bloomfield School District	No	No	No	No	(860) 286-2630	528	49	10.6	56.3%	12 (2.3%)	436 (82.6%)	63 (11.9%)	3 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	12 (2.3%)								(n/a)		35.1						$30,648
REGIONS staff-secure Hartford	Public	5-12	123 Washington Street	Hartford	06106	Capitol Planning Region	Judicial Centers	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(860) 566-2030	0	0			0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
REGIONS secure Hartford	Public	5-12	920 Broad Street	Hartford	06106	Capitol Planning Region	Judicial Centers	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(860) 244-7961	0	0			0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)

Frequently Asked Questions about University High School of Science and Engineering

What is the racial makeup of University High School of Science and Engineering?

Students at University High School of Science and Engineering are 52% African American, 24% Hispanic, 11% White, 6% Asian, 5% Two or more races.

Is University High School of Science and Engineering a good school?

University High School of Science and Engineering ranks 48^th of 133 Connecticut high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

What district is University High School of Science and Engineering in?

Hartford School District

How many students attend University High School of Science and Engineering?

In the 2024-25 school year, 406 students attended University High School of Science and Engineering.

Rate University High School of Science and Engineering!

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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.