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Federal Furnace School

Public Grades K-5
350th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 899 Massachusetts Elementary Schools
Better than 61% of Massachusetts elementary schools
Summary

Federal Furnace School is a K–5 elementary school in Plymouth, MA, serving 359 students — mid-sized among the seven elementary schools in the Plymouth district. In the 2025–26 rankings it placed 350th of 899 Massachusetts elementary schools (61st percentile, 3 stars), well above the district's own 48th-percentile standing statewide.

The school is a genuine turnaround story: from 2016–17 through 2018–19 it sat at the 21st–28th percentile (1 star), and since 2020–21 it has not fallen below the 49th percentile, peaking at 71st percentile and 4 stars in 2022–23. Science is its standout subject — 63.33% proficient in 2025–26, versus 37.55% for the district and 40.98% statewide, and 14.9 points above the district's own 5th-grade science figure. That places it third among the ten comparison schools, behind West Elementary (65.45) and Manomet Elementary (62.16) but ahead of Dennett Elementary (54.55). Math also beats the district by 8.3 points (44.26 vs. 36.0), while English language arts sits right at the district average and is the relative soft spot — 7th of the 10 comparison schools.

Special education is the school's signature: those students ranked 71st–81st percentile with 4 stars in each of the last three years, above the school's overall 61st percentile. Female and male students perform nearly identically. Classes are small (10.0 students per teacher) and per-student spending is high ($19,570 in 2020–21), though neighboring Hedge and Cold Spring spend more with smaller classes and rank lower. Overall, Federal Furnace is 4th of Plymouth's seven K–5 elementaries — ahead of South Elementary and Hedge, behind Manomet, West, and Nathaniel Morton Elementary.

359
Students ?
10.0
Student/teacher ratio ?
$22,417
Per pupil spending ?
37.6%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 860 Federal Furnace Road
       Plymouth, MA  02360

(508) 830-4360

District: Plymouth


Students who attend Federal Furnace School usually attend:

Middle:    Plymouth Commun Intermediate
High:    Plymouth North High
Racial breakdown:

White:
79.1%
Hispanic:
8.6%
Two or more races:
7.2%
more
 See top rated Massachusetts elementary schools

 Compare Federal Furnace School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Recently slipping — 71st percentile in 2023 → 61st in 2026
Strengths
✓Test scores above the Massachusetts average (47% vs 41% meeting standards)
✓Above the Massachusetts median (61st percentile)
✓Small classes — about 10 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Ranking has slipped from its 71st-percentile peak (2023) to 61st (2026)
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school47%
District avg40%
Massachusetts avg41%
350th of 899
Massachusetts public elementary schools ?
Top 39%▲ up 19 pts since 2016
From bottom 42% (2016) to top 39% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Massachusetts Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
4th of 8Elementary Schools in the Plymouth
182nd of 351Plymouth 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
202660.6350 of 89961.1%★★★☆☆
202554.9408 of 90655.0%★★★☆☆
202459.9368 of 91659.8%★★★☆☆
202371.7269 of 92871.0%★★★★☆
202263.0353 of 93262.1%★★★☆☆
202150.8478 of 93648.9%★★☆☆☆
201927.1727 of 94222.8%★☆☆☆☆
201824.7739 of 93420.9%★☆☆☆☆
201733.1675 of 93828.0%★☆☆☆☆
201646.0543 of 93241.7%★★☆☆☆
201540.1596 of 91434.8%★★☆☆☆
201448.1540 of 92641.7%★★☆☆☆
201342.2583 of 92837.2%★★☆☆☆
201266.4348 of 93062.6%★★★☆☆
201169.0309 of 92466.6%★★★☆☆
201053.9468 of 92049.1%★★☆☆☆
200965.6332 of 90963.5%★★★☆☆
200860.0380 of 90858.1%★★★☆☆
200771.5264 of 91171.0%★★★★☆
200672.7242 of 91173.4%★★★★☆
200583.2136 of 88784.7%★★★★☆
200474.2239 of 88272.9%★★★★☆
200384.8113 of 88487.2%★★★★☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202273.7114 of 67283.0%★★★★☆
202155.9221 of 63265.0%★★★☆☆
201943.1341 of 66548.7%★★☆☆☆
201836.4417 of 65636.4%★★☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202661.6336 of 86961.3%★★★☆☆
202559.5353 of 86959.4%★★★☆☆
202462.6331 of 88662.6%★★★☆☆
202360.6365 of 88758.9%★★★☆☆
202250.7460 of 90148.9%★★☆☆☆
202145.0516 of 89842.5%★★☆☆☆
201930.6669 of 90225.8%★☆☆☆☆
201832.8641 of 89328.2%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202651.5336 of 74254.7%★★★☆☆
202561.1224 of 73669.6%★★★☆☆
202449.3358 of 76052.9%★★★☆☆
202362.2227 of 75770.0%★★★★☆
202254.8320 of 77258.5%★★★☆☆
202147.8355 of 70549.6%★★★☆☆
201932.4517 of 70026.1%★☆☆☆☆
201812.3663 of 6853.2%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202658.4357 of 87959.4%★★★☆☆
202550.0437 of 88450.6%★★★☆☆
202456.3387 of 89156.6%★★★☆☆
202377.1191 of 89678.7%★★★★☆
202268.5282 of 90868.9%★★★☆☆
202154.7424 of 90453.1%★★★☆☆
201924.6731 of 90719.4%★☆☆☆☆
201822.8731 of 89818.6%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202667.3162 of 70977.2%★★★★☆
202560.2211 of 71770.6%★★★★☆
202471.9140 of 73180.8%★★★★☆
202373.0133 of 70381.1%★★★★☆
202259.0315 of 90565.2%★★★☆☆
202144.0501 of 89444.0%★★☆☆☆
201928.3716 of 89620.1%★☆☆☆☆
201811.7862 of 8862.7%☆☆☆☆☆

Tested In Person

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202157.4418 of 92554.8%★★★☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankMassachusetts percentileRating
202653.0347 of 73452.7%★★★☆☆
202541.7453 of 73738.5%★★☆☆☆
202452.0369 of 75351.0%★★★☆☆
202365.4247 of 76267.6%★★★☆☆
202254.4357 of 76453.3%★★★☆☆
202140.1487 of 76536.3%★★☆☆☆
201916.2714 of 7808.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201818.2685 of 77211.3%★☆☆☆☆
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)
Disabled (2022)83rd percentile+21 vs school
Special Education (2026)77th percentile+16 vs school
Female (2026)61st percentile~ school
Male (2026)59th percentile~ school
Tested In Person (2021)55th percentile+6 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)55th percentile-6 vs school
White (2026)53rd percentile-8 vs school
By subject vs Massachusetts (2025-2026) ?
Science63%+22 vs state
English Language Arts45%+5 vs state
Mathematics44%+3 vs state

3.0
2 ratings · 2 written reviews
5★1
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What people are saying
by a parent
Monday, June 26, 2017

Open Quote I will summarize this school in one word: abysmal. Close Quote


by a parent
Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Open Quote This is an excellent school: Top-Notch Principal - Dedicated Teachers - Involved Parents - Safe and Happy Students Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Federal Furnace School

Federal Furnace School ranks 350th of 899 Massachusetts elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Students who attend Federal Furnace School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Plymouth Commun Intermediate
High : Plymouth North High

In the 2024-25 school year, 359 students attended Federal Furnace School.

Students at Federal Furnace School are 79% White, 9% Hispanic, 7% Two or more races, 4% African American.

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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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