Summary
Newtown High School is a large suburban public high school in Sandy Hook, CT, serving 1,254 students in grades 9–12 as part of the Newtown School District. For the 2025-2026 school year, the school ranked 11th out of 133 Connecticut high schools, placing it in the 92nd percentile with a 5-star rating — a strong result that has been consistent over the past decade, with rankings ranging from 8th to 48th statewide. Academically, 80.3% of 11th graders were proficient in English Language Arts on the SAT, compared to 55.3% statewide, while 55.2% were proficient in math, versus 31.3% statewide. The graduation rate is exceptionally high at 98.5%, and chronic absenteeism has dropped to just 6.6%, far below the state average of 16.4%.
When compared to neighboring schools, Newtown stands out on several key measures. Its 98.5% graduation rate is the highest among nearby comprehensive high schools, edging out Pomperaug Regional High School (97.9%) and Brookfield High School (97.8%). Its chronic absenteeism rate of 6.6% is by far the lowest in the region — Oxford High School, for example, sits at 33.6%. On the SAT, Newtown outperforms most neighbors, including Masuk High School and Oxford, though Joel Barlow High School leads the area with 89.7% ELA and 66.9% math proficiency.
Newtown also produces strong results with relatively efficient spending. Per-student costs of $16,569 are below many neighboring districts, including Joel Barlow's $23,477 and Masuk's $20,560, yet the school outperforms most of them on state rankings and SAT scores. The school serves several student groups particularly well — Hispanic students ranked in the 85th percentile statewide in 2025-2026, and female and male students both ranked in the low-80s percentile. However, math proficiency remains a relative weakness compared to ELA, and results for low-income students dipped recently, dropping from the 86th percentile in 2023-2024 to the 57th percentile in 2024-2025 — an area worth monitoring for families.
Thank you for your feedback!