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Joseph Metcalf School

Public Grades 6-8
468th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 484 Massachusetts Middle Schools
Better than 3% of Massachusetts middle schools
Summary

Joseph Metcalf School is a public middle school in Holyoke, MA, serving 205 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the Holyoke school district, which is ranked 348 out of 348 districts in Massachusetts and is rated 0 stars out of 5 by SchoolDigger.

The data analysis suggests that Joseph Metcalf School is struggling to provide a high-quality education to its students, particularly in core academic areas like English Language Arts and Mathematics. The school consistently performs below the state and district averages on MCAS Next Generation assessments, with only 11.44% of students proficient or better in ELA and just 3.96% proficient or better in Mathematics in the 2024-2025 school year. The school's performance is particularly concerning for certain student subgroups, ranking in the bottom 25% of Massachusetts middle schools for Hispanic students, English Language Learners, and students with special needs.

When compared to nearby middle schools, such as Michael E. Smith Middle School in South Hadley and Dupont Middle in Chicopee, Joseph Metcalf School's performance is significantly lower, with proficiency rates that are nearly double or triple those of Joseph Metcalf School. This suggests a systemic issue within the Holyoke school district, as the two other middle schools in the district, Holyoke STEM Academy and Lt Clayre Sullivan Elementary, also perform poorly on MCAS assessments.

213
Students ?
9.9
Student/teacher ratio ?
$26,933
Per pupil spending ?
44.6%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 2019 Northampton Street
       Holyoke, MA  01040

(413) 534-2104

District: Holyoke

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
81.2%
White:
11.3%
African American:
4.2%
more
 See top rated Massachusetts middle schools

 Compare Joseph Metcalf School to nearby middle schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 22nd percentile in 2023 → 3rd in 2025
Strengths
Small classes — about 10 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Massachusetts average (8% vs 41% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (3rd percentile)
!Ranking has slipped — down 19 percentile points since 2023
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school8%
District avg9%
Massachusetts avg41%
468th of 484
Massachusetts public middle schools ?
Bottom 3%▼ down 18 pts since 2023
From bottom 22% (2023) to bottom 3% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Massachusetts Middle Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
2nd of 3Middle Schools in the Holyoke
348th of 348Holyoke 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
202313.2823 of 92811.3%★☆☆☆☆
202217.6771 of 93217.3%★☆☆☆☆
202119.5753 of 93619.6%★☆☆☆☆
201938.3613 of 94234.9%★★☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202228.1498 of 67225.9%★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202337.7163 of 26438.3%★★☆☆☆
202226.3237 of 26711.2%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202314.1788 of 88711.2%★☆☆☆☆
202216.0777 of 90113.8%★☆☆☆☆
202113.5802 of 89810.7%★☆☆☆☆
201933.6639 of 90229.2%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202322.3369 of 42012.1%★☆☆☆☆
202222.5359 of 40110.5%★☆☆☆☆
202135.6235 of 37938.0%★★☆☆☆
201949.0192 of 39851.8%★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
20238.4752 of 7570.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202211.9747 of 7723.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202118.8644 of 7058.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201925.3584 of 70016.6%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202315.2784 of 89612.5%★☆☆☆☆
202224.8707 of 90822.1%★☆☆☆☆
202125.7674 of 90425.4%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202322.8595 of 70315.4%★☆☆☆☆
202213.5867 of 9054.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202122.5756 of 89415.4%★☆☆☆☆
201929.8699 of 89622.0%★☆☆☆☆

Tested In Person

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202120.4736 of 92520.4%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202257.7323 of 76457.7%★★★☆☆
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
20257.8468 of 4843.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20246.8479 of 4932.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202320.9392 of 50121.8%★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202433.4159 of 18011.7%★☆☆☆☆
202332.4151 of 1552.6%☆☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
20258.6452 of 4734.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20248.4461 of 4814.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202318.3410 of 48916.2%★☆☆☆☆
202235.6312 of 49436.8%★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202515.6361 of 3764.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202414.0366 of 3783.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202325.3287 of 36421.2%★☆☆☆☆
202240.5204 of 36844.6%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202511.7444 of 4644.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20249.6456 of 4692.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202317.0421 of 48112.5%★☆☆☆☆
202229.1357 of 48927.0%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
20257.6459 of 4733.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20246.5475 of 4831.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202320.1389 of 48920.4%★☆☆☆☆
202234.2315 of 49736.6%★★☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202520.6403 of 4357.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202416.4436 of 4411.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202237.0308 of 50338.8%★★☆☆☆
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
White (2022)58th percentile+40 vs school
English Language Learner (2023)38th percentile+27 vs school
Disabled (2022)26th percentile+9 vs school
Tested In Person (2021)20th percentile~ school
Special Education (2023)15th percentile+4 vs school
Male (2023)12th percentile~ school
Hispanic (2023)12th percentile~ school
Female (2023)11th percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2023)1st percentile-11 vs school
Middle school
English Language Learner (2024)12th percentile+9 vs school
Special Education (2025)7th percentile+4 vs school
Female (2025)4th percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)4th percentile~ school
Hispanic (2025)4th percentile~ school
Male (2025)3rd percentile~ school
By subject vs Massachusetts (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts11%-30 vs state
Civics10%-30 vs state
Science8%-34 vs state
Mathematics4%-37 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Joseph Metcalf School

Students at Joseph Metcalf School are 81% Hispanic, 11% White, 4% African American, 2% Two or more races.

Joseph Metcalf School ranks in the bottom 3.3% of Massachusetts middle schools.

In the 2024-25 school year, 213 students attended Joseph Metcalf School.


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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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