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Waterbury Career Academy

Q: Is Waterbury Career Academy a good school?

Waterbury Career Academy ranks 91 st of 141 Connecticut high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

91^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 141 Connecticut High Schools

Better than 35% of Connecticut high schools

Summary

Waterbury Career Academy is a public high school serving 755 students in grades 9-12 in Waterbury, Connecticut. The school is part of the Waterbury School District, which is ranked 149 out of 156 districts in the state and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Waterbury Career Academy has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Connecticut high schools, with its students performing significantly below the state average on standardized tests. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 52.5% of 11th-graders were proficient or better in SAT/English Language Arts, compared to the state average of 58%. In SAT/Math, only 15.2% of 11th-graders were proficient or better, compared to the state average of 31.1%. The school's performance on NGSS/Science tests is also below the state average, with only 30.4% of 11th-graders proficient or better in 2024-2025, compared to the state average of 47.7%. However, the school has shown some strengths in the performance of specific student subgroups, such as African American and Hispanic students.

While Waterbury Career Academy's overall academic performance is low, the school's four-year graduation rate has been around 88% in recent years, which is on par with the state average. However, the school has struggled with high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 11% to 31.2% in recent years, which is significantly higher than the state average. In comparison, Cheshire High School, a high-performing school outside the Waterbury district, serves a more affluent student population and significantly outperforms Waterbury Career Academy on academic measures, with 64.9% of 11th-graders proficient or better in NGSS/Science.

709

Students ?

11.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,089

Per pupil spending ?

78%

Free/discounted lunch ?

175 Birch Street
Waterbury, CT 06704

(203) 574-8000

District: Waterbury School District

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

54.6%

African American:

26.0%

White:

13.0%

See top rated Connecticut high schools

Compare Waterbury Career Academy to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 22nd percentile in 2016 → 35th in 2025

Strengths

✓97% graduate in 4 years — above the Connecticut average (89%)

✓Ranking is trending up — up 13 percentile points since 2016

✓Among the top-ranked schools in Waterbury School District

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Connecticut average (33% vs 46% meeting standards)

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

!Science scores 17 pts below the Connecticut average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school33%

District avg18%

Connecticut avg46%

91^st of 141

Connecticut public high schools ?

Bottom 35%▲ up 13 pts since 2016

From bottom 22% (2016) to bottom 35% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Connecticut High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 5High Schools in the Waterbury School District

149^th of 156Waterbury 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
2025	28.0	91 of 141	35.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	25.4	105 of 145	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.0	107 of 142	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	24.5	93 of 139	33.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	37.9	119 of 200	40.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	37.0	83 of 121	31.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	26.2	96 of 121	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	29.4	95 of 140	32.1%	★★☆☆☆
2016	22.8	103 of 132	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2025	78.9	6 of 31	80.6%	★★★★☆
2024	69.4	2 of 24	91.7%	★★★★★
2023	55.5	11 of 25	56.0%	★★★☆☆
2022	51.6	13 of 25	48.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	86.5	7 of 58	87.9%	★★★★☆
2019	76.6	2 of 13	84.6%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2025	22.0	77 of 104	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	12.3	88 of 103	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	32.2	122 of 189	35.4%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2025	51.2	23 of 63	63.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	42.1	31 of 63	50.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	50.7	22 of 63	65.1%	★★★☆☆
2021	54.7	38 of 104	63.5%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2025	49.6	29 of 70	58.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	30.4	39 of 65	40.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	34.7	36 of 70	48.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	59.6	59 of 155	61.9%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2025	20.9	87 of 111	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.5	76 of 100	24.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.0	81 of 100	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	16.1	84 of 102	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	40.4	107 of 182	41.2%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2021	64.1	69 of 175	60.6%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Connecticut percentile	Rating
2022	12.1	106 of 117	9.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	23.9	129 of 155	16.8%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

African American (2025)81st percentile+45 vs school

Hispanic (2025)63rd percentile+28 vs school

Special Education (2021)61st percentile+20 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)59th percentile+23 vs school

Female (2025)26th percentile-9 vs school

Male (2025)22nd percentile-14 vs school

White (2022)9th percentile-24 vs school

By subject vs Connecticut (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts52%-5 vs state

Science30%-17 vs state

Math15%-16 vs state

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Schools Near Waterbury Career Academy

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				NGSS Science (2025)		SAT English Language Arts (2025)	SAT Math (2025)	SBAC English Language Arts (2025)			SBAC Mathematics (2025)			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	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	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 English Language Arts 7th Grade	SBAC English Language Arts 8th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 6th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 7th Grade	SBAC Mathematics 8th Grade	Total
Waterbury Career Academy	Public	9-12	175 Birch Street	Waterbury	06704	Naugatuck Valley Planning Region	Waterbury School District	No	No	No	Yes	(203) 574-8000	709	59	11.9	78.0%	92 (13.0%)	184 (26.0%)	387 (54.6%)	19 (2.7%)	6 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (3.0%)	28	91^st of 141 public high schools	35.5%		25.4	105^th of 145 public high schools	27.6%	14		30.4	52.5	15.2							$21,089
Waterbury Arts Magnet School	Public, Magnet	6-12	16 South Elm St.	Waterbury	06706	Naugatuck Valley Planning Region	Waterbury School District	No	Yes	No	Yes	(203) 573-6300	820	68	12.0	68.0%	234 (28.5%)	151 (18.4%)	378 (46.1%)	12 (1.5%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (5.2%)	22.7	103^rd of 141 public high schools	27.0%		32	91^st of 145 public high schools	37.2%	12	48.2		43.8	15.2	52.7	63.4	58.8	29.5	38.4	37.7	$22,835
REGIONS staff secure Waterbury	Public	6-12	80 Prospect Street	Waterbury	06702	Naugatuck Valley Planning Region	Judicial Centers	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(203) 757-9939	0	0			0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
John F. Kennedy High School	Public	9-12	422 Highland Ave.	Waterbury	06708	Naugatuck Valley Planning Region	Waterbury School District	No	No	No	Yes	(203) 574-8153	1,391	98	14.2	81.8%	137 (9.8%)	314 (22.6%)	876 (63.0%)	22 (1.6%)	4 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (2.7%)	8.9	132^nd of 141 public high schools	6.4%		7	137^th of 145 public high schools	5.5%	5		13.3	24.3	10.0							$18,813
Crosby High School	Public	9-12	300 Pierpont Rd.	Waterbury	06705	Naugatuck Valley Planning Region	Waterbury School District	No	No	No	Yes	(203) 574-8061	1,453	85	17.0	83.0%	90 (6.2%)	344 (23.7%)	942 (64.8%)	16 (1.1%)	12 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	49 (3.4%)	8.6	133^rd of 141 public high schools	5.7%		7.4	135^th of 145 public high schools	6.9%	2		9.6	27.4	9.4							$16,885
W. F. Kaynor Technical High School	Public	9-12	43 Tompkins St.	Waterbury	06708	Naugatuck Valley Planning Region	Connecticut Technical Education and Career System	No	No	No	Yes	(203) 596-4302	831	71	11.6	51.7%	231 (27.8%)	133 (16.0%)	401 (48.3%)	10 (1.2%)	4 (0.5%)	2 (0.2%)	42 (5.1%)	27.7	93^rd of 141 public high schools	34.0%		33.4	87^th of 145 public high schools	40.0%	6		45.2	39.4	11.7							$28,587
Wilby High School	Public	9-12	568 Bucks Hill Rd.	Waterbury	06704	Naugatuck Valley Planning Region	Waterbury School District	No	No	No	Yes	(203) 574-8100	1,196	83	14.4	84.9%	60 (5.0%)	307 (25.7%)	764 (63.9%)	7 (0.6%)	3 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	55 (4.6%)	6.6	137^th of 141 public high schools	2.8%		6.3	138^th of 145 public high schools	4.8%	1		10.8	17.4	7.2							$19,547
Wolcott High School	Public	9-12	457 Bound Line Rd.	Wolcott	06716	Naugatuck Valley Planning Region	Wolcott School District	No	No	No	No	(203) 879-8164	611	60	10.1	30.9%	445 (72.8%)	33 (5.4%)	96 (15.7%)	17 (2.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (3.3%)								(n/a)											$21,527
Watertown High School	Public	9-12	324 French St.	Watertown	06795	Naugatuck Valley Planning Region	Watertown School District	No	No	No	No	(860) 945-4810	693	66	10.5	40.4%	539 (77.8%)	27 (3.9%)	93 (13.4%)	10 (1.4%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	21 (3.0%)								(n/a)		44.0									$26,352
Naugatuck High School	Public	9-12	543 Rubber Ave.	Naugatuck	06770	Naugatuck Valley Planning Region	Naugatuck School District	No	No	No	No	(203) 720-5400	1,202	79	15.2	54.2%	453 (37.7%)	165 (13.7%)	490 (40.8%)	35 (2.9%)	3 (0.2%)	3 (0.2%)	51 (4.2%)	16	117^th of 141 public high schools	17.0%		26.7	100^th of 145 public high schools	31.0%	17		21.8	38.8	12.1							$20,990

Frequently Asked Questions about Waterbury Career Academy

How many students attend Waterbury Career Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 709 students attended Waterbury Career Academy.

What is the racial makeup of Waterbury Career Academy?

Students at Waterbury Career Academy are 55% Hispanic, 26% African American, 13% White, 3% Two or more races, 3% Asian.

Is Waterbury Career Academy a good school?

Waterbury Career Academy ranks 91^st of 141 Connecticut high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What district is Waterbury Career Academy in?

Waterbury School District

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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.