Summary
Pentucket Regional Middle is a public middle school in West Newbury, MA, serving 335 students in grades 7–8 as part of the Pentucket district, which ranks 131st of 351 districts statewide. In 2025–26 the school ranked 193rd of 478 middle schools in Massachusetts — the 60th percentile, with 3 stars — placing it somewhat above the state's middle tier. Its history shows a clear peak in 2021–22, when it reached the 80th percentile, followed by a general slide into the 60–65th percentile range.
Among 11 nearby middle schools, Pentucket sits 4th in both statewide percentile and core-subject proficiency. It comfortably outpaces the Haverhill and Lawrence schools and edges out Georgetown and Amesbury, but trails Rupert A Nock Middle in Newburyport, North Andover Middle, and Triton Regional Middle School. Triton is the closest match because it also serves grades 7–8, and it outperforms Pentucket in every core subject, including a wide science gap. Pentucket's student/teacher ratio of 12.4 (2024–25) is better than it was in prior years but still higher than Triton's 9.6, Newburyport's 9.3, and Amesbury's 9.1. Per-student spending was $17,206 in 2020–21, mid-pack among nearby schools.
2025–26 was a down year: proficiency fell in ELA, math, science, and civics, and the statewide rank slipped from the 65th to the 60th percentile. Civics is the clearest weakness — 34.12% proficient in 8th grade versus 39.77% statewide — and results are uneven by grade, with 8th-grade math and science above state rates while 7th-grade math, 8th-grade ELA, and civics lag. School-wide averages also mask uneven subgroup results: Hispanic students and special education students rank at the 70th percentile, while low-SES students fell from the 85th percentile in 2023–24 to the 35th in 2025–26, and White students sit at the 41st. Free/reduced-lunch data was unavailable, so the low-SES rank is the best available equity proxy.
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