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Waddell School

Q: Is Waddell School a good school?

Waddell School ranks 320 th of 492 Connecticut elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-4

320^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 492 Connecticut Elementary Schools

Better than 35% of Connecticut elementary schools

Summary

Waddell School is a K–4 elementary school in Manchester, CT, serving 476 students in a high-poverty community within the Manchester School District. The school ranks in the 35th percentile statewide (2 stars), placing it in the lower-middle range of Connecticut elementary schools — but notably, it performs above the typical school in its own district, which ranks in the 16th percentile statewide. Waddell serves a student body where 63.5% qualify for free or reduced lunch, up from 53.2% just two years earlier.

Waddell's most distinctive strength is 3rd-grade math, where 53.5% of students met proficiency in 2025–2026 — slightly above the state average of 52.2% and well ahead of nearby Bowers School (30.4%) and Verplanck School (45.3%). The school also shows exceptional outcomes for Hispanic students, who rank in the 83rd percentile statewide — a 4-star performance. Compared to its closest demographic peers, Bowers and Verplanck, Waddell outperforms them in all four tested subjects, suggesting the school is getting meaningful results despite the challenges of serving a high-need population.

The most pressing challenges are English language arts, chronic absenteeism, and a gender gap. Only 31% of 3rd graders and 42% of 4th graders are proficient in ELA, well below state averages of 47.3% and 50.9%. Chronic absenteeism sits at 21.6% — much higher than nearby Buckley School (12.4%) and Highland Park School (15.4%), and the trend is moving in the wrong direction after improving post-pandemic. Male students rank in the 19th percentile statewide, well behind female students at the 28th. The gap with Buckley and Highland Park, which have lower poverty rates and much better attendance, highlights the challenges Waddell faces — but also shows that improving attendance could be a major lever for growth. The main opportunities ahead are sustaining strong math results beyond 3rd grade and making attendance a top priority.

476

Students ?

11.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$22,521

Per pupil spending ?

63.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

163 Broad Street
Manchester, CT 06042

(860) 647-3392

District: Manchester School District

Students who attend Waddell School usually attend:

Middle:	Illing Middle School
High:	Manchester High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

34.7%

African American:

23.9%

Asian:

19.3%

See top rated Connecticut elementary schools

Compare Waddell School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 33rd percentile in 2015 → 35th in 2026

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 12 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Connecticut average (43% vs 51% meeting standards)

!English Language Arts scores 12 pts below the Connecticut average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school43%

District avg41%

Connecticut avg51%

320^th of 492

Connecticut public elementary schools ?

Bottom 35%▲ up 11 pts since 2016

From bottom 24% (2016) to bottom 35% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Connecticut Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 6Elementary Schools in the Manchester School District

127^th of 153Manchester 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	34.1	320 of 492	35.0%	★★☆☆☆
2025	25.6	341 of 493	30.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	25.7	348 of 497	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	25.9	340 of 491	30.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	25.3	345 of 490	29.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	38.5	314 of 538	41.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	33.3	350 of 522	33.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	18.0	432 of 532	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	22.9	394 of 518	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	38.6	369 of 551	33.0%	★★☆☆☆
2013	42.2	388 of 557	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2012	57.4	322 of 564	42.9%	★★☆☆☆
2011	41.4	407 of 565	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	48.1	382 of 579	34.0%	★★☆☆☆
2009	48.7	383 of 566	32.3%	★★☆☆☆
2008	59.2	316 of 565	44.1%	★★☆☆☆
2007	59.2	308 of 568	45.8%	★★☆☆☆
2006	41.7	394 of 570	30.9%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2021	76.8	3 of 41	92.7%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2026	31.8	161 of 228	29.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	20.5	195 of 234	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	34.0	286 of 455	37.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	15.1	214 of 242	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2026	66.6	22 of 130	83.1%	★★★★☆
2024	48.4	42 of 111	62.2%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2025	33.9	48 of 77	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	46.0	37 of 70	47.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	68.2	72 of 302	76.2%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2026	18.8	187 of 234	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	10.1	217 of 239	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.9	211 of 232	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	36.1	264 of 445	40.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	34.4	171 of 247	30.8%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2021	65.5	107 of 371	71.2%	★★★★☆

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)

African American (2021)93rd percentile+51 vs school

Hispanic (2026)83rd percentile+48 vs school

Special Education (2021)71st percentile+30 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)38th percentile+7 vs school

Female (2026)29th percentile-6 vs school

Male (2026)20th percentile-15 vs school

By subject vs Connecticut (2025-2026) ?

Mathematics48%-4 vs state

English Language Arts37%-12 vs state

5.0

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What people are saying

by a citizen
Wednesday, April 6, 2016

The best after attending, your child will grow to be the greatest person meant to live in this society. The low ratings it may appear to have is just an idiotic system of the, failed standardized testing, in reality that doesn't matter in elementary, whats does matter is being a kid learn about the strange world which you are just getting to know. So instead of being locked up and taking test for idealistic elitism demonstrations you idiots should find the values of natural life and a child freedom and let them be just that free. Once upon a time i went there and the grand scale of diversity and that fact that we had recess even in cold days allowed me to explore everything about the world i lived in i was able to interact with plants and insects and i was able to develop simple communication skills without prejudice of my fellow child based on the color of their skin because i simple just saw another being attempting to beat the opposite team at kickball but instead this is lost because of so many peoples brilliant idea to throw tests and papers at a child an presume that they will comprehend what could have easily been understood by hands on out side fun. But its better to take their child like sense of wonder at a young age to better integrate them into a mindless conformist society especially with all their lazy idiotic parents who have children just to put an iPad in front of their faces and never truly enjoy their children. What i'm getting at is that waddell is amazing the school system isn't dont trust scores love your children love the world. Close Quote

Schools Near Waddell 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	NGSS Science 8th 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 7th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 8th Grade	Total
Waddell School	Public	K-4	163 Broad Street	Manchester	06042	Capitol Planning Region	Manchester School District	No	No	No	Yes	(860) 647-3392	476	40	11.8	63.4%	73 (15.3%)	114 (23.9%)	165 (34.7%)	92 (19.3%)	5 (1.1%)	1 (0.2%)	26 (5.5%)	34.1	320^th of 492 public elementary schools	35.0%		25.6	341^st of 493 public elementary schools	30.8%	21			31.0	42.0					53.5	43.9					$22,521
Odyssey Community School	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	579 Middle Tpke West	Manchester	06040	Capitol Planning Region	Odyssey Community School District	Yes	No	No	Yes	(860) 645-1234	410	33	12.4	40.5%	97 (23.7%)	91 (22.2%)	86 (21.0%)	105 (25.6%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (6.8%)	56.7	232^nd of 492 public elementary schools	52.8%		58.1	229^th of 493 public elementary schools	53.5%	3	496.0	805.0	42.9	65.8	46.2	2534.0	52.5	2581.0	2438.0	73.7	2510.0	2521.0	52.5	56.4	$14,822
Keeney School	Public	K-4	65 North School St.	Manchester	06042	Capitol Planning Region	Manchester School District	No	No	No	No	(860) 647-3354	366	30	12.1	53.3%	142 (38.8%)	87 (23.8%)	85 (23.2%)	27 (7.4%)	4 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (5.7%)	19.6	373^rd of 492 public elementary schools	24.2%		23.2	351^st of 493 public elementary schools	28.8%	22			28.6	38.7					32.0	32.8					$22,644
Verplanck School	Public	K-4	126 Olcott Street	Manchester	06040	Capitol Planning Region	Manchester School District	No	No	No	Yes	(860) 647-3383	466	40	11.6	77.5%	67 (14.4%)	108 (23.2%)	233 (50.0%)	30 (6.4%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (5.2%)	23.3	360^th of 492 public elementary schools	26.8%		11.3	422^nd of 493 public elementary schools	14.4%	62			27.9	29.8					45.3	38.1					$22,788
Bowers School	Public	K-4	141 Princeton Street	Manchester	06042	Capitol Planning Region	Manchester School District	No	No	No	Yes	(860) 647-3313	376	32	11.9	67.0%	84 (22.3%)	78 (20.7%)	176 (46.8%)	16 (4.3%)	3 (0.8%)	2 (0.5%)	17 (4.5%)	19.2	376^th of 492 public elementary schools	23.6%		17.3	386^th of 493 public elementary schools	21.7%	10			23.2	32.9					30.4	40.5					$24,280
Buckley School	Public	K-4	250 Vernon Street	Manchester	06042	Capitol Planning Region	Manchester School District	No	No	No	No	(860) 647-3302	284	28	10.2	52.5%	99 (34.9%)	65 (22.9%)	72 (25.4%)	28 (9.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (7.0%)	47.2	264^th of 492 public elementary schools	46.3%		72.9	159^th of 493 public elementary schools	67.7%	105			46.6	53.1					53.4	48.4					$24,845
Highland Park School	Public	K-4	397 Porter St.	Manchester	06040	Capitol Planning Region	Manchester School District	No	No	No	No	(860) 647-3430	300	29	10.3	54.3%	99 (33.0%)	64 (21.3%)	101 (33.7%)	21 (7.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (4.7%)	62.4	210^th of 492 public elementary schools	57.3%		50.4	251^st of 493 public elementary schools	49.1%	41			55.1	58.1					59.4	64.5					$23,647
Manchester Preschool Center at Martin	Public	PK-K	140 Dartmouth Rd	Manchester	06040	Capitol Planning Region	Manchester School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(860) 647-3367	153	11	13.7	67.3%	23 (15.0%)	37 (24.2%)	55 (35.9%)	28 (18.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (6.5%)								(n/a)															$18,610
Dr. Franklin H. Mayberry School	Public	K-5	101 Great Hill Rd.	East Hartford	06108	Capitol Planning Region	East Hartford School District	No	No	No	Yes	(860) 622-5720	310	28	10.9	70.6%	18 (5.8%)	76 (24.5%)	190 (61.3%)	7 (2.3%)	5 (1.6%)	2 (0.6%)	12 (3.9%)	13.2	408^th of 492 public elementary schools	17.1%		15.5	399^th of 493 public elementary schools	19.1%	9	32.0		11.8	36.7	22.0				11.8	36.7	16.0				$20,495
Orchard Hill School	Public	K-5	380 Foster St.	South Windsor	06074	Capitol Planning Region	South Windsor School District	No	No	No	No	(860) 648-5015	623	48	13.0	19.7%	260 (41.7%)	33 (5.3%)	63 (10.1%)	236 (37.9%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (4.5%)	77.6	126^th of 492 public elementary schools	74.4%		85.8	62^nd of 493 public elementary schools	87.4%	64	69.7		58.7	77.8	70.7				68.6	84.6	56.6				$17,198

Frequently Asked Questions about Waddell School

How many students attend Waddell School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 476 students attended Waddell School.

What is the racial makeup of Waddell School?

Students at Waddell School are 35% Hispanic, 24% African American, 19% Asian, 15% White, 5% Two or more races, 1% American Indian.

What district is Waddell School in?

Manchester School District

What schools do graduates of Waddell School attend?

Students who attend Waddell School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Illing Middle School
High : Manchester High School

Is Waddell School a good school?

Waddell School ranks 320^th of 492 Connecticut elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Rate Waddell School!

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Latest Connecticut data All new data »

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

2025–26 NGSS, SAT & SBAC test scoresAug 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.