Summary:
North Reading has one listed middle school — North Reading Middle, serving grades 6–8 with 494 students as part of the North Reading district — so parents here are considering a single school, and the most useful comparisons are against the district and the state.
That school is a standout. In 2025–26 it ranked 21st of 478 Massachusetts middle schools, the 96th percentile, and earned 5 stars — and it has improved each year, moving from 40th of 493 (92nd percentile) in 2023–24 to 35th of 484 (93rd) in 2024–25 to 21st of 478 (96th) in 2025–26. MCAS Next Generation proficiency in 2025–26 was far above state averages: 72.9% in ELA All Grades versus 40.03% statewide, and 75.88% in Mathematics All Grades versus 41.11%. Science and Civics also came in roughly 28 to 33 points above state.
Mathematics is the strongest broad subject, with 8th grade at 78.77% and 6th grade at 78.35%; 7th-grade math (68.79%) is the relative dip but still 31.31 points above state. ELA is remarkably consistent across grades, ranging only from 71.43% to 73.74%. Science posted the biggest year-over-year gain, up 8.32 points to 71.51%, while Civics 8th grade (68.16%) is the lowest reported score yet 28.39 points above state. The school beats the district in every direct grade-level comparison, but by modest margins (0.38 to 1.50 points), suggesting a high-performing district overall. The student–teacher ratio is 9.7, per-student spending was $17,728 in 2020–21, and the free/reduced-lunch figure is blank, so socioeconomic context cannot be assessed from this data.
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