Atlantic Middle

Atlantic Middle is a grades 6–8 school at 86 Hollis Avenue in Quincy, MA, serving 601 students—the second-largest middle school enrollment in the district—and it ranks 140th of 478 Massachusetts schools (71st percentile, 4 stars), far above the Quincy district’s 48th percentile.

Within Quincy, Atlantic Middle is clearly the No. 2 middle school behind Central Middle, which ranks 60th statewide. Atlantic outperforms Broad Meadows Middle, South West Middle, and Point Webster Middle by roughly 24–31 percentile points, and its math proficiency is about 22–23 points higher than Broad Meadows and Point Webster. Compared with nearby suburban schools, Atlantic’s ELA is competitive with East Middle School in Braintree, but its math and science trail East Middle School, South Middle School, and Charles S Pierce Middle in Milton by roughly 4–20 points. The school also runs lean: its student–teacher ratio is 17.3, the highest among comparison schools and up from 15.2 the year before, and it spends about $15,339 per student (2020–21), below many peers it outperforms.

Atlantic’s distinctive strength is its support for students who often need it most: low-income and English-learner students perform in the top 10% of the state, earning 5 stars across three years, and special education students score above the state midpoint. Sixth-grade math is a standout at 57.49%, and 8th-grade civics (49.15%) beats both district and state. The cautions: 7th-grade ELA falls below the district average, science has drifted down slightly, and single-year swings make one-year results unreliable. Overall, Atlantic Middle is a strong Quincy choice—only Central Middle outperforms it locally—but families should weigh the lean staffing and lower math/science results against nearby suburban options.