Middle Schools in Fall River

Fall River has three middle schools serving grades 6 through 8 — Morton Middle, Matthew J Kuss Middle, and Talbot Innovation School — all part of the Fall River district, which ranks 331 of 351 statewide at the 6th percentile with 0 stars.

Together the three schools enroll 1,979 students: Morton 751, Kuss 646, and Talbot 582. Talbot is the relative standout, with the best current rank (401 of 478, 16th percentile, 1 star), the highest all-grade Math (19.81%), Science (15.29%), and Civics (11.76%) proficiency, and the only clear upward rank trend (427 → 419 → 401). Morton has the largest enrollment and the highest all-grade ELA (19.91%), plus the best 8th grade ELA (22.82%) and 6th grade Math (22.12%), but the lowest Science (7.39%) — less than half the district's 15.29%. Kuss ranks lowest (449 of 478, 6th percentile, 0 stars) and has the weakest all-grade ELA (14.24%) and Math (9.02%), with the lowest 6th grade Math (7.21%).

For parents, the key context is that no school in this group reaches 25% proficiency in any reported 2025–26 subject or grade, while state averages sit around 40% or higher. Grade-level strengths differ: Morton is strongest in 6th grade Math and 8th grade ELA but weaker in 7th and 8th grade Math; Talbot leads in 8th grade Math (24.12%) and 6th grade ELA (20.73%); Kuss improves slightly by grade but stays low throughout. Civics is low across all three, ranging only from 10.29% to 11.76% against a state average of 39.77%. Talbot spends the most per student ($18,013 in 2020–21) and Kuss has the smallest student-teacher ratio (10.3), yet Kuss posts the lowest ELA and math results, so spending and staffing alone do not explain the differences here.