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Joseph Demello

Public Grades K-5
238th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 906 Massachusetts Elementary Schools
Better than 74% of Massachusetts elementary schools
Summary

Joseph Demello is an elementary school located in South Dartmouth, MA, serving 331 students in grades 1-5. It is part of the Dartmouth school district, which is ranked 114 out of 348 districts in Massachusetts and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger. Over the past 10 years, Joseph Demello has consistently performed well, ranking in the top 30-40% of Massachusetts elementary schools with a current ranking of 238th and a 4-star rating.

Joseph Demello stands out for its strong academic performance, consistently outperforming the Dartmouth district and the state of Massachusetts in MCAS Next Generation test scores across all grades and subjects. The school also performs exceptionally well for certain student subgroups, ranking in the top 100 out of over 700 Massachusetts elementary schools for special education students and low socioeconomic status students in recent years. Additionally, Joseph Demello has a relatively low student-teacher ratio, ranging from 12.4 to 13.8 over the past few years, which is lower than the nearby James M. Quinn School and the New Bedford schools.

While Joseph Demello outperforms the Dartmouth district and the state, the nearby James M. Quinn School in Dartmouth also performs well, ranking in the top 35% of Massachusetts elementary schools. In contrast, the New Bedford schools in close proximity to Joseph Demello generally perform significantly worse, with several schools ranking in the bottom 10-20% of the state. Joseph Demello's higher per-student spending compared to the state average suggests the district is investing resources to support the school's strong academic outcomes.

392
Students ?
14.7
Student/teacher ratio ?
$19,041
Per pupil spending ?
23.6%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 654 Dartmouth Street
       South Dartmouth, MA  02748

(508) 996-6750

District: Dartmouth


Students who attend Joseph Demello usually attend:

Middle:    Dartmouth Middle
High:    Dartmouth High
Racial breakdown:

White:
80.4%
Hispanic:
8.9%
Two or more races:
6.9%
more
 See top rated Massachusetts elementary schools

 Compare Joseph Demello to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Rebounding — 51st percentile in 2018 → 74th in 2025
Strengths
Test scores above the Massachusetts average (56% vs 41% meeting standards)
Ranking is rebounding — up to 74th (2025) from a 51st-percentile low (2018)
Above the Massachusetts median (74th percentile)
Worth a look
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school56%
District avg52%
Massachusetts avg41%
238th of 906
Massachusetts public elementary schools ?
Top 26%▼ down 18 pts since 2015
From top 8% (2015) to top 26% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Massachusetts Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
1st of 3Elementary Schools in the Dartmouth
114th of 348Dartmouth 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)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202574.0238 of 90673.7%★★★★☆
202470.3276 of 91669.9%★★★★☆
202370.8279 of 92869.9%★★★★☆
202255.3430 of 93253.9%★★★☆☆
202168.5291 of 93668.9%★★★☆☆
201960.2382 of 94259.4%★★★☆☆
201854.9457 of 93451.1%★★★☆☆
201767.4302 of 93867.8%★★★☆☆
201680.2165 of 93282.3%★★★★☆
201587.074 of 91491.9%★★★★★
201478.0186 of 92679.9%★★★★☆
201372.9264 of 92871.6%★★★★☆
201267.2342 of 93063.2%★★★☆☆
201171.7287 of 92468.9%★★★☆☆
201057.6417 of 92054.7%★★★☆☆
200952.7476 of 90947.6%★★☆☆☆
200845.6548 of 90839.6%★★☆☆☆
200744.6565 of 91138.0%★★☆☆☆
200651.4478 of 91147.5%★★☆☆☆
200548.5491 of 88744.6%★★☆☆☆
200450.7477 of 88245.9%★★☆☆☆
200345.4524 of 88440.7%★★☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202276.0100 of 67285.1%★★★★☆
202176.797 of 63284.7%★★★★☆
201962.3191 of 66571.3%★★★★☆
201852.1255 of 65661.1%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202571.8241 of 86972.3%★★★★☆
202474.1226 of 88674.5%★★★★☆
202372.8241 of 88772.8%★★★★☆
202260.5354 of 90160.7%★★★☆☆
202171.4245 of 89872.7%★★★★☆
201961.3355 of 90260.6%★★★☆☆
201859.2382 of 89357.2%★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202574.1110 of 73685.1%★★★★☆
202472.7129 of 76083.0%★★★★☆
202379.677 of 75789.8%★★★★☆
202270.1167 of 77278.4%★★★★☆
202180.757 of 70591.9%★★★★★
201958.8249 of 70064.4%★★★☆☆
201845.5377 of 68545.0%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202572.7243 of 88472.5%★★★★☆
202463.8311 of 89165.1%★★★☆☆
202366.3304 of 89666.1%★★★☆☆
202249.6463 of 90849.0%★★☆☆☆
202163.8330 of 90463.5%★★★☆☆
201955.4416 of 90754.1%★★★☆☆
201849.3476 of 89847.0%★★☆☆☆

Military Connected

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202239.93 of 30.0%★★★★☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202579.290 of 71787.4%★★★★☆
202466.8175 of 73176.1%★★★★☆
202367.6170 of 70375.8%★★★★☆
202265.2245 of 90572.9%★★★★☆
202173.0161 of 89482.0%★★★★☆
201949.3447 of 89650.1%★★★☆☆
201833.6652 of 88626.4%★☆☆☆☆

Tested In Person

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202166.6316 of 92565.8%★★★☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202561.4282 of 73761.7%★★★☆☆
202456.0333 of 75355.8%★★★☆☆
202355.3337 of 76255.8%★★★☆☆
202240.5485 of 76436.5%★★☆☆☆
202154.6336 of 76556.1%★★★☆☆
201946.8447 of 78042.7%★★☆☆☆
201845.5466 of 77239.6%★★☆☆☆
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)
Special Education (2025)87th percentile+14 vs school
Disabled (2022)85th percentile+31 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)85th percentile+11 vs school
Male (2025)73rd percentile~ school
Female (2025)72nd percentile~ school
Tested In Person (2021)66th percentile-3 vs school
White (2025)62nd percentile-12 vs school
Military Connected (2022)<1st percentile-54 vs school
By subject vs Massachusetts (2024-2025) ?
Science64%+23 vs state
Mathematics58%+17 vs state
English Language Arts51%+10 vs state

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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.





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