Summary:
Zip code 06443, serving the town of Madison, CT, is home to one public middle school: Walter C. Polson Middle School, which enrolls 541 students in grades 6 through 8. As the only middle school in the area, the analysis focuses on how this school performs relative to its district and the state, and it is a standout by nearly every measure.
Walter C. Polson Middle School is an elite institution, ranked 8th out of 258 Connecticut middle schools for 2025–2026 (97th percentile, 5 stars). Just one year earlier, it ranked 3rd in the state. The school dramatically outperforms state averages: roughly 8 in 10 students score proficient or above in ELA and math, versus about 5 in 10 in ELA and 4 in 10 in math statewide. Its 8th-grade science proficiency rate is 84.6%, nearly 34 points above the state. Chronic absenteeism is just 4.5%—more than 3.5 times lower than the state rate of 16.4%—and the school benefits from a top-ranked Madison School District, rated 5th out of 153 districts in Connecticut.
The school’s strongest subject is math, where the gap versus the state averages roughly 37 points across grades 6–8. However, proficiency dipped slightly between 2024–2025 and 2025–2026: average ELA fell from 84.1% to 80.8%, math from 84.4% to 81.2%, and 8th-grade science from 85.1% to 84.6%. This decline is minor given the school remains in the top 10 statewide. With a low free/reduced-lunch rate of 6.47%, a favorable student–teacher ratio of 9.8:1, and per-student spending of $20,503, the school is exceptionally well-resourced. Its state ranking has stayed consistently elite—11th, 3rd, and 8th over the past three years—making it one of the highest-performing middle schools in Connecticut.
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