Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 06478

Zip code 06478 in Oxford, Connecticut, is home to two elementary schools in the Oxford School District: Quaker Farms School, serving grades PK–2 with 384 students, and Great Oak Elementary School, serving grades 3–5 with 369 students. Together they enroll 753 elementary students and form a clean, non-overlapping grade pipeline within a district ranked 52 out of 153 Connecticut districts (66th percentile, 3 stars). Both schools serve relatively low-poverty populations, with free/reduced lunch eligibility at about 19% at Quaker Farms and 18% at Great Oak.

Great Oak is the clear academic standout. It holds a 4-star state ranking, placing 127th out of 491 Connecticut elementary schools (74th percentile), and posts test scores well above state averages in every subject and grade. For example, 5th grade ELA proficiency is 77.9% versus 53.5% statewide, and 5th grade science is 76.2% versus 52.9%. Great Oak also has exceptionally low chronic absenteeism at 4.7%, far below the state rate of 16.4%. Quaker Farms stands out for spending: $18,362 per student, about 25% more than Great Oak's $14,672, despite similar student-teacher ratios (14.2 vs. 14.7) and similar economic need — a difference likely tied to its PreK and early-elementary population.

Chronic absenteeism is remarkably low at both schools, though Quaker Farms is higher at 7.9% — still less than half the district rate of 14.6%, suggesting absenteeism is a bigger concern in middle or high school. Great Oak's state ranking has improved overall, moving from a 3-star, 68th-percentile ranking in 2023-2024 to 4 stars in 2024-2025, and holding at 4 stars (74th percentile) in 2025-2026. Because Quaker Farms ends at grade 2, all standardized testing data in this pipeline comes from Great Oak; since it is the only school serving grades 3–5 in the district, its school-level scores match the district's exactly. Families in 06478 essentially get a two-stage elementary experience: a well-funded early-primary program at Quaker Farms feeding into a high-performing upper-elementary program at Great Oak.