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

John Eliot

Q: Is John Eliot a good school?

John Eliot ranks 106 th of 906 Massachusetts elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

106^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 906 Massachusetts Elementary Schools

Better than 88% of Massachusetts elementary schools

Summary

John Eliot is a public elementary school located in Needham, Massachusetts, serving 402 students from kindergarten to 5th grade. The school is part of the highly-ranked Needham School District, which is ranked 14th out of 348 districts in the state and has a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger.

John Eliot consistently ranks among the top 25% of Massachusetts elementary schools, with strong academic performance across various subject areas. The school's MCAS Next Generation assessment results show that 63.59% of students are proficient or better in English Language Arts, and 68.45% are proficient or better in Mathematics, exceeding the state averages by a significant margin. John Eliot also demonstrates strong performance across different student subgroups, including male students, Asian students, African American students, and students with special education needs.

While John Eliot outperforms many nearby schools in the Needham School District, the nearby schools in the Wellesley School District, such as Joseph E. Fiske and Schofield, demonstrate even stronger academic performance, with higher proficiency rates and higher statewide rankings. John Eliot also has a relatively low student-teacher ratio and high spending per student, indicating a focus on providing a quality educational experience for its students.

397

Students ?

11.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$24,205

Per pupil spending ?

12.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

135 Wellesley Avenue
Needham, MA 02494

(781) 455-0452

District: Needham

Students who attend John Eliot usually attend:

Middle:	High Rock School
	Pollard Middle
High:	Needham High

Racial breakdown:

White:

55.7%

Asian:

21.2%

Two or more races:

9.1%

See top rated Massachusetts elementary schools

Compare John Eliot to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 64th percentile in 2015 → 88th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Massachusetts average (66% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 12% of Massachusetts elementary schools

✓Ranking is trending up — up 24 percentile points since 2015

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

!Near the bottom of Needham's ranking

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school66%

District avg73%

Massachusetts avg41%

106^th of 906

Massachusetts public elementary schools ?

Top 12%▲ up 24 pts since 2015

From top 36% (2015) to top 12% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Massachusetts Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

5^th of 5Elementary Schools in the Needham

14^th of 348Needham 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2025	87.0	106 of 906	88.3%	★★★★☆
2024	87.2	106 of 916	88.4%	★★★★☆
2023	78.6	196 of 928	78.9%	★★★★☆
2022	75.2	222 of 932	76.2%	★★★★☆
2021	81.6	157 of 936	83.2%	★★★★☆
2019	63.1	347 of 942	63.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	77.1	205 of 934	78.1%	★★★★☆
2017	80.9	166 of 938	82.3%	★★★★☆
2016	78.6	185 of 932	80.2%	★★★★☆
2015	65.8	328 of 914	64.1%	★★★☆☆
2014	74.8	226 of 926	75.6%	★★★★☆
2013	76.5	210 of 928	77.4%	★★★★☆
2012	71.7	279 of 930	70.0%	★★★★☆
2011	74.6	247 of 924	73.3%	★★★★☆
2010	75.4	232 of 920	74.8%	★★★★☆
2009	63.3	360 of 909	60.4%	★★★☆☆
2008	66.5	314 of 908	65.4%	★★★☆☆
2007	70.6	274 of 911	69.9%	★★★★☆
2006	76.0	213 of 911	76.6%	★★★★☆
2005	50.5	466 of 887	47.5%	★★☆☆☆
2004	63.9	348 of 882	60.5%	★★★☆☆
2003	62.2	370 of 884	58.1%	★★★☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2023	63.9	44 of 167	73.7%	★★★★☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2025	75.3	30 of 142	78.9%	★★★★☆
2024	61.1	68 of 152	55.3%	★★★☆☆
2023	53.1	84 of 145	42.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	42.0	104 of 143	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	47.0	98 of 141	30.5%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2022	63.0	189 of 672	71.9%	★★★★☆
2021	51.4	250 of 632	60.4%	★★★☆☆
2019	56.3	230 of 665	65.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	58.1	215 of 656	67.2%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2025	81.8	144 of 869	83.4%	★★★★☆
2024	81.6	152 of 886	82.8%	★★★★☆
2023	68.4	283 of 887	68.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	66.9	292 of 901	67.6%	★★★☆☆
2021	75.3	211 of 898	76.5%	★★★★☆
2019	66.9	288 of 902	68.1%	★★★☆☆
2018	72.1	244 of 893	72.7%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2023	48.5	388 of 757	48.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	60.5	254 of 772	67.1%	★★★☆☆
2018	77.5	87 of 685	87.3%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2025	88.5	76 of 884	91.4%	★★★★★
2024	88.4	77 of 891	91.4%	★★★★★
2023	81.4	148 of 896	83.5%	★★★★☆
2022	78.8	163 of 908	82.0%	★★★★☆
2021	81.4	157 of 904	82.6%	★★★★☆
2019	58.6	377 of 907	58.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	78.3	179 of 898	80.1%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2025	88.8	39 of 717	94.6%	★★★★★
2024	91.3	24 of 731	96.7%	★★★★★
2023	64.5	188 of 703	73.3%	★★★★☆
2022	55.8	354 of 905	60.9%	★★★☆☆
2021	59.8	290 of 894	67.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	47.1	477 of 896	46.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	62.5	261 of 886	70.5%	★★★★☆

Tested In Person

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2021	81.5	161 of 925	82.6%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2025	78.4	128 of 737	82.6%	★★★★☆
2024	77.6	136 of 753	81.9%	★★★★☆
2023	68.8	214 of 762	71.9%	★★★★☆
2022	65.0	244 of 764	68.1%	★★★☆☆
2021	81.1	116 of 765	84.8%	★★★★☆
2019	50.8	403 of 780	48.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	70.1	212 of 772	72.5%	★★★★☆

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)95th percentile+6 vs school

Male (2025)91st percentile+3 vs school

Female (2025)83rd percentile-5 vs school

White (2025)83rd percentile-6 vs school

Tested In Person (2021)83rd percentile~ school

Asian (2025)79th percentile-9 vs school

African American (2023)74th percentile-5 vs school

Disabled (2022)72nd percentile-4 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2023)49th percentile-30 vs school

By subject vs Massachusetts (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics68%+28 vs state

Science65%+24 vs state

English Language Arts64%+22 vs state

1.0

1 rating · 1 written review

5★0

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★1

Rate John Eliot

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 parent
Friday, August 19, 2016

Do not send your kids here. My son encountered discrimination and outright racism numerous times within his second grade classroom and his own teacher called the incidences "flukes". The principal did not do anything to stop it from happening again and again during the school year. School administrative staff was unprofessional and gossiped about it but would not actually discuss the incidents with teaching staff to try to prevent them from happening again in the future. Truly a horrible experience which is why we have moved out of Needham. Close Quote

Schools Near John Eliot

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts (2025)				MCAS Next Generation Mathematics (2025)				MCAS Next Generation Science (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 4th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 5th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts All Grades	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 3rd Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 4th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 5th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics All Grades	MCAS Next Generation Science 5th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Science All Grades	Total
John Eliot	Public	K-5	135 Wellesley Avenue	Needham	02494	Norfolk County	Needham	No	No	No	Yes	(781) 455-0452	397	34	11.7		221 (55.7%)	21 (5.3%)	35 (8.8%)	84 (21.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (9.1%)	87	106^th of 906 public elementary schools	88.3%		87.2	106^th of 916 public elementary schools	88.4%		62.2	61.9	66.7	63.6	63.5	69.8	72.5	68.5	65.2	65.2	$24,205
Sunita L. Williams Elementary	Public	K-5	585 Central Avenue	Needham	02494	Norfolk County	Needham	No	No	No	No	(781) 455-0461	533	41	13.1		376 (70.5%)	23 (4.3%)	30 (5.6%)	59 (11.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	44 (8.3%)	90.1	68^th of 906 public elementary schools	92.5%		85	127^th of 916 public elementary schools	86.1%	59	61.9	70.7	72.9	68.7	61.9	70.0	72.1	68.2	76.7	76.7	$24,076
Joseph E Fiske	Public	K-5	45 Hastings Street	Wellesley	02481	Norfolk County	Wellesley	No	No	No	Yes	(781) 446-6265	278	24	11.3		152 (54.7%)	14 (5.0%)	23 (8.3%)	77 (27.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (4.3%)	96.3	11^th of 906 public elementary schools	98.8%		93.9	32^nd of 916 public elementary schools	96.5%	21	84.1	66.7	81.6	78.3	93.2	75.0	77.6	82.2	83.7	83.7	$24,897
Schofield	Public	K-5	27 Cedar Street	Wellesley	02481	Norfolk County	Wellesley	No	No	No	No	(781) 446-6280	291	27	10.9		190 (65.3%)	8 (2.7%)	29 (10.0%)	45 (15.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	18 (6.2%)	90.6	61^st of 906 public elementary schools	93.3%		92.1	51^st of 916 public elementary schools	94.4%	10	71.7	61.4	75.9	69.5	73.6	63.2	66.7	67.7	79.6	79.6	$26,407
A E Angier	Public	K-5	1697 Beacon Street	Waban	02468	Middlesex County	Newton	No	No	No	No	(617) 559-9300	383	38	10.0		232 (60.6%)	14 (3.7%)	19 (5.0%)	72 (18.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (11.5%)	95.7	14^th of 906 public elementary schools	98.5%		95.5	16^th of 916 public elementary schools	98.3%	2	69.2	68.2	76.4	71.4	83.3	80.3	84.7	82.8	87.7	87.7	$25,777
William Mitchell	Public	K-5	187 Brookline Street	Needham	02492	Norfolk County	Needham	No	No	No	No	(781) 455-0466	424	34	12.5		323 (76.2%)	14 (3.3%)	19 (4.5%)	42 (9.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (6.1%)	92.1	47^th of 906 public elementary schools	94.8%		90.1	73^rd of 916 public elementary schools	92.0%	26	68.3	74.3	66.7	69.8	61.9	79.7	74.7	72.6	78.4	78.4	$23,045
Newman Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1155 Central Avenue	Needham	02492	Norfolk County	Needham	No	No	No	No	(781) 455-0416	696	56	12.3		496 (71.3%)	19 (2.7%)	59 (8.5%)	82 (11.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	39 (5.6%)	94.1	31^st of 906 public elementary schools	96.6%		88.3	97^th of 916 public elementary schools	89.4%	66	74.2	73.5	75.2	74.3	77.4	75.5	69.5	74.0	76.2	76.2	$24,956
Zervas	Public	K-5	30 Beethoven Avenue	Waban	02468	Middlesex County	Newton	No	No	No	Yes	(617) 559-6750	399	35	11.3		178 (44.6%)	32 (8.0%)	43 (10.8%)	94 (23.6%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	49 (12.3%)	79.7	186^th of 906 public elementary schools	79.5%		82.7	147^th of 916 public elementary schools	84.0%	39	61.6	60.3	53.4	58.3	64.4	63.8	50.0	59.0	63.5	63.5	$26,900
Countryside	Public	K-5	191 Dedham Street	Newton Highlands	02461	Middlesex County	Newton	No	No	No	No	(617) 559-9450	369	38	9.7		180 (48.8%)	23 (6.2%)	35 (9.5%)	92 (24.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (10.6%)	84	137^th of 906 public elementary schools	84.9%		87.2	104^th of 916 public elementary schools	88.6%	33	63.1	73.0	57.6	64.7	70.8	71.4	52.5	65.2	56.7	56.7	$27,250
Broadmeadow	Public	K-5	120 Broadmeadow Rd	Needham	02492	Norfolk County	Needham	No	No	No	No	(781) 455-0448	502	36	14.0		351 (69.9%)	6 (1.2%)	29 (5.8%)	70 (13.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (9.2%)	92.1	48^th of 906 public elementary schools	94.7%		92	52^nd of 916 public elementary schools	94.3%	4	67.8	67.1	77.3	70.7	70.1	65.9	80.7	72.2	77.3	77.3	$23,288

Frequently Asked Questions about John Eliot

What is the racial makeup of John Eliot?

Students at John Eliot are 56% White, 21% Asian, 9% Two or more races, 9% Hispanic, 5% African American.

What district is John Eliot in?

Needham

How many students attend John Eliot?

In the 2024-25 school year, 397 students attended John Eliot.

Is John Eliot a good school?

John Eliot ranks 106^th of 906 Massachusetts elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What schools do graduates of John Eliot attend?

Students who attend John Eliot usually go on to attend:

Middle : High Rock School
Middle : Pollard Middle
High : Needham High

Rate John Eliot!

Other helpful SchoolDigger resources...

Compare to nearby schools

MAMassachusetts Elementary School Rankings

MAMassachusetts District Rankings

Schools in Needham, MA

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for John Eliot!

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.