Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Trotter Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-6
818th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 899 Massachusetts Elementary Schools
Better than 9% of Massachusetts elementary schools
Summary

Trotter Elementary School is a PK–6 school in Dorchester, MA, part of the Boston district, serving 352 students. In 2025–2026, it ranked 818 of 899 Massachusetts elementary schools—the 9th percentile with 0 stars—placing it among the lowest-performing schools in the state. Its rank history shows persistent low performance without a sustained upward trend: the best recent years, 2016–2017 and 2017–2018, were still only around the 19th–20th percentile, and the current 9th-percentile result is slightly below the 12th-percentile range from 2022–2024.

On 2025–2026 MCAS, its all-grades proficiency was 17.45% in ELA, 10.74% in math, and 21.21% in science. Those rates are 11.96 points below the Boston district and 22.58 points below the state in ELA; 18.38 points below the district and 30.37 points below the state in math; and 3.73 points below the district but 19.77 points below the state in science. Math is the most severe weakness, with grade-level proficiency ranging from 6.06% to 13.79%. One bright spot is 6th grade ELA at 41.38%, which is above both district and state averages. By contrast, 3rd and 4th grade ELA are extremely low at 9.76% and 6.52%. Nearby, Hernandez Elementary School and Hale Elementary School score much higher, Winthrop Elementary School is similar, and King Elementary School and Ellis Elementary School are lower.

Subgroup performance is uneven. English Language Learner students rank at the 5th percentile and male students at the 7th, while low-income students are around the 16th and special education results have been volatile. Spending and class size do not clearly explain the outcomes: the school spent $26,196 per student in 2020–2021—more than Hernandez Elementary School and Hale Elementary School—and its 2024–2025 student–teacher ratio of 10.7 is lower than the 13.8 ratio at Hernandez Elementary School. Nearby schools vary widely, from Hale Elementary School in the 76th percentile and Hernandez Elementary School in the 58th to King Elementary School in the 1st and Ellis Elementary School in the 4th. It sits near the lower end, similar to Winthrop Elementary School but above King and above Ellis, showing that low performance is not simply a neighborhood-wide pattern.

352
Students ?
10.7
Student/teacher ratio ?
$37,313
Per pupil spending ?
83.6%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 135 Humboldt Avenue
       Dorchester, MA  02121

(617) 635-8225

District: Boston

Racial breakdown:

African American:
49.7%
Hispanic:
40.6%
Two or more races:
4.3%
more
 See top rated Massachusetts elementary schools

 Compare Trotter Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 7th percentile in 2016 → 9th in 2026
Strengths
✓Small classes — about 11 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Massachusetts average (15% vs 41% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (9th percentile)
!Mathematics scores 30 pts below the Massachusetts average
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school15%
District avg29%
Massachusetts avg41%
818th of 899
Massachusetts public elementary schools ?
Bottom 9%▲ up 2 pts since 2016
See the entire ranking list of Massachusetts Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
47th of 63Elementary Schools in the Boston
299th of 351Boston among Massachusetts districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Elementary school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202612.2818 of 8999.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202514.2796 of 90612.1%★☆☆☆☆
202414.5810 of 91611.6%★☆☆☆☆
202314.5812 of 92812.5%★☆☆☆☆
20227.3902 of 9323.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20216.2914 of 9362.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201915.1833 of 94211.6%★☆☆☆☆
201822.2755 of 93419.2%★☆☆☆☆
201723.3753 of 93819.7%★☆☆☆☆
20169.8866 of 9327.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201513.1825 of 9149.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201413.6835 of 9269.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201314.7818 of 92811.9%★☆☆☆☆
201211.0843 of 9309.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20114.0908 of 9241.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20103.2905 of 9201.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20092.0899 of 9091.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20081.7904 of 9080.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20070.9910 of 9110.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20062.5906 of 9110.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20052.6882 of 8870.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20041.9875 of 8820.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20034.2854 of 8843.4%☆☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202628.2157 of 18816.5%★☆☆☆☆
202529.6133 of 16921.3%★☆☆☆☆
202431.3125 of 16725.1%★☆☆☆☆
202330.1123 of 16726.3%★☆☆☆☆
202222.3150 of 17313.3%★☆☆☆☆
202126.7137 of 16617.5%★☆☆☆☆
201943.396 of 17244.2%★★☆☆☆
201858.557 of 17467.2%★★★☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
201823.5557 of 65615.1%★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202623.6277 of 2914.8%☆☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202617.2749 of 86913.8%★☆☆☆☆
202515.4764 of 86912.1%★☆☆☆☆
202415.5781 of 88611.9%★☆☆☆☆
202316.0769 of 88713.3%★☆☆☆☆
20227.8873 of 9013.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20215.9890 of 8980.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201913.0825 of 9028.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201828.4680 of 89323.9%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202634.1331 of 47530.3%★★☆☆☆
202549.5202 of 45855.9%★★★☆☆
202450.8179 of 44659.9%★★★☆☆
202353.6150 of 42064.3%★★★☆☆
202229.7305 of 40123.9%★☆☆☆☆
202115.1367 of 3793.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201934.7283 of 39828.9%★☆☆☆☆
201838.6249 of 37934.3%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202624.8624 of 74215.9%★☆☆☆☆
202529.8566 of 73623.1%★☆☆☆☆
202426.2624 of 76017.9%★☆☆☆☆
202328.4603 of 75720.3%★☆☆☆☆
202215.6726 of 7726.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202113.4678 of 7053.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201936.6481 of 70031.3%★★☆☆☆
201844.3394 of 68542.5%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202611.3817 of 8797.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202515.3782 of 88411.5%★☆☆☆☆
202415.5780 of 89112.5%★☆☆☆☆
202313.9800 of 89610.7%★☆☆☆☆
20229.1866 of 9084.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20218.5866 of 9044.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201919.0768 of 90715.3%★☆☆☆☆
201819.3761 of 89815.3%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202625.8563 of 70920.6%★☆☆☆☆
202542.0367 of 71748.8%★★☆☆☆
202417.1687 of 7316.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202213.0871 of 9053.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202111.5866 of 8943.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201934.3635 of 89629.1%★☆☆☆☆
201842.4523 of 88641.0%★★☆☆☆

Tested In Person

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
20215.7913 of 9251.3%☆☆☆☆☆

Tested Remotely

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202114.1377 of 3995.5%☆☆☆☆☆
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
20227.6476 of 4974.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202110.7457 of 5018.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201924.1381 of 49823.5%★☆☆☆☆
201830.7344 of 48428.9%★☆☆☆☆
201717.1411 of 48715.6%★☆☆☆☆
201615.7419 of 48213.1%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202220.3188 of 21211.3%★☆☆☆☆
202131.6143 of 19325.9%★☆☆☆☆
201946.2100 of 19548.7%★★★☆☆
201853.173 of 17257.6%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
20228.2473 of 4944.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201926.6365 of 47823.6%★☆☆☆☆
201844.6269 of 46341.9%★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202218.1345 of 3686.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202112.1331 of 3351.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201975.854 of 32283.2%★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202212.6456 of 4896.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202118.5410 of 46211.3%★☆☆☆☆
201949.1225 of 45250.2%★★★☆☆
201846.9243 of 43844.5%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
20229.2470 of 4975.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202117.9406 of 48516.3%★☆☆☆☆
201927.6355 of 47825.7%★☆☆☆☆
201819.6384 of 46617.6%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202212.5472 of 5036.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202118.9435 of 48911.0%★☆☆☆☆
201951.3203 of 48458.1%★★★☆☆
201850.6205 of 46756.1%★★★☆☆

Tested In Person

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202113.9427 of 49113.0%★☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
Elementary school
Hispanic (2026)30th percentile+21 vs school
Special Education (2026)21st percentile+12 vs school
African American (2026)16th percentile+7 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)16th percentile+7 vs school
Disabled (2018)15th percentile-4 vs school
Female (2026)14th percentile+5 vs school
Male (2026)7th percentile~ school
Tested Remotely (2021)6th percentile+3 vs school
English Language Learner (2026)5th percentile-4 vs school
Tested In Person (2021)1st percentile~ school
Middle school
Tested In Person (2021)13th percentile+4 vs school
African American (2022)11th percentile+7 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2022)7th percentile+3 vs school
Hispanic (2022)6th percentile~ school
Special Education (2022)6th percentile~ school
Male (2022)5th percentile~ school
Female (2022)4th percentile~ school
By subject vs Massachusetts (2025-2026) ?
Science21%-20 vs state
English Language Arts17%-23 vs state
Mathematics11%-30 vs state

4.0
1 rating · 1 written review
5★0
4★1
3★0
2★0
1★0
Rate Trotter Elementary School
Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.
Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.
Tap a star to rate
What people are saying
by a student
Friday, May 11, 2012

Open Quote I went to the Trotter school from Kindergarten until 3rd grade (when we moved away). I have nothing but fond memories. Now that I am a teacher myself, I often think back to my days at the Trotter School for inspiration. Close Quote





Schools Near Trotter Elementary School

Ranking:
Map legend
E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private






Frequently Asked Questions about Trotter Elementary School

Students at Trotter Elementary School are 50% African American, 41% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races, 3% White, 2% Asian.

In the 2024-25 school year, 352 students attended Trotter Elementary School.

Trotter Elementary School ranks in the bottom 9.0% of Massachusetts elementary schools.

Rate Trotter Elementary School!



Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Trotter Elementary School!


Latest Massachusetts data All new data »
2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesMar 5, 2026
2024–25 MCAS Next Generation test scoresSep 29, 2025
2023–24 school spending dataMay 8, 2025
2023–24 dropout rates & graduation ratesMay 1, 2025


SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.

Diagnostics