Summary:
Springfield, Massachusetts is home to 13 middle schools serving grades 6–8, all within the Springfield district, which ranks 322 of 351 districts statewide at the 8th percentile with 0 stars and enrolls 3,034 students with a median of 268 per school. Enrollment ranges from just 18 students at Springfield Middle School to 366 at John F Kennedy Middle, and several schools share campuses.
Chestnut Accelerated Middle School (Talented and Gifted) is the clear standout: the only school above the 20th percentile (65th percentile, 3 stars), it exceeds the state average in ELA, science, and civics and is the only school anywhere near state math performance. Its ELA is 20.56 points above the next-highest school and its civics 28.12 points above. Outside Chestnut, the strongest options are South End Middle School (19th percentile, with large year-over-year gains and the lowest student–teacher ratio among comprehensive schools at 8.9) and Kiley Academy (15th percentile, the largest ELA and math gains in the group).
Most other schools sit in the bottom fifth of the state: 11 of 12 ranked schools fall below the 20th percentile, and 8 of 12 are at or below the 10th percentile. Springfield Public Day Middle School and Springfield Legacy Academy are at the 0th percentile. Median school proficiency is 12.92 in ELA, 7.72 in math, 6.95 in science, and 8.46 in civics—all below district averages, meaning a few higher performers pull the average up. Spending does not track results simply: Chestnut spends near the median ($19,024), while the highest-spending schools are tiny special settings reporting 0% proficiency. Special and alternative schools likely serve different populations and are not directly comparable.
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