Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 06492

Zip code 06492 in Wallingford, CT, is home to two public middle schools serving grades 6-8 — Dag Hammarskjold Middle School and James H. Moran Middle School — both part of the Wallingford School District. The schools are similar in size, with 593 and 531 students respectively, and have nearly identical socioeconomic profiles at about 35% free or reduced-price lunch eligibility.

Dag Hammarskjold Middle School is the overall standout, ranking 103rd out of 258 Connecticut middle schools for 2025-26 compared to Moran's 118th. Dag posts stronger two-year ELA proficiency (53.4% vs. 50.0%) and science proficiency (59.1% vs. 51.8%), including an impressive 64.4% science score in 2025-26, well above the state average of 50.9%. However, James H. Moran Middle School matches Dag in math (both at 41.8% two-year average) and actually leads in 7th- and 8th-grade math in the most recent year. Moran also has a lower student-teacher ratio (9.6 vs. 10.9) and higher per-student spending ($18,587 vs. $17,461), though that spending figure is from 2018-19 and should be interpreted cautiously.

Both schools improved significantly from 2024-25 to 2025-26. Moran posted larger gains in ELA (+5.1 points) and math (+6.2 points), while Dag surged an extraordinary 10.6 points in science. A shared area of concern is 6th-grade math, where both schools fall below the state average in both years. On the positive side, both schools exceed the state average in 8th-grade science and have chronic absenteeism rates around 12%, well below the state average of 16.4%. While the Wallingford School District ranks in the 37th percentile statewide, both middle schools rank in the 50th-60th percentile, suggesting the district's middle schools are relative strengths.