Middle Schools in Natick

J F Kennedy Middle School and Wilson Middle are the two middle schools in the Natick district, serving grades 5–8 and enrolling 1,638 students combined. The district ranks 45th of 351 in Massachusetts at the 87th percentile with 4 stars. Both schools are high-performing: their all-grades ELA and Math scores are roughly 22–30 percentage points above state averages. Free/reduced-lunch percentages are blank for both, so that information is unknown, not zero.

J F Kennedy Middle School is larger (911 students vs. 727) and has the stronger latest state rank: 50th of 478 at the 90th percentile with 4 stars, compared with Wilson Middle at 59th of 478, 88th percentile, 4 stars. J F Kennedy Middle School also had a 5-star peak in 2023–2024 (44th of 493, 91st percentile). Wilson Middle has been more stable, at 90th, 89th, and 88th percentiles across three years. In 2025–2026, J F Kennedy Middle School leads overall ELA (63.75% vs. 62.09%) and Math (70.76% vs. 69.93%), while Wilson Middle leads Science (62.14% vs. 60.14%) and 8th grade Civics (69.61% vs. 64.93%). At the grade level, J F Kennedy Middle School dominates 6th and 7th grade ELA/Math — its 7th grade Math score of 75.00% is the highest single value — but its 5th grade ELA is 52.45%, below the district’s 57.52%. Wilson Middle dominates 5th grade ELA (66.27%) and Science (70.30%) and 6th grade Math (73.48%), but its 7th grade ELA (57.54%) and Math (66.85%) are below district averages. 8th grade Science is a relative weak spot for both (JFK 55.92%, Wilson 54.70%), though both far exceed the state’s 38.93%.

Both schools exceed the state in every reported subject and grade. Their strengths are complementary, so neither is simply “better.” In 2024–2025, Wilson Middle outperformed J F Kennedy Middle School in all four reported all-grades subjects; in 2025–2026, J F Kennedy Middle School flipped ELA and Math while Wilson Middle kept Science and Civics. Wilson Middle has a lower student–teacher ratio (9.9 vs. 11.1) and higher per-student spending ($16,383 vs. $15,962), though J F Kennedy Middle School’s latest ELA and Math scores are slightly higher. Caution: spending data is from 2020–2021 while test scores are from 2024–2026, so spending is not current; grade-level results reflect different cohorts; and rankings vary year to year with only two schools compared.