Emergence Academy

Emergence Academy is a Springfield public school campus at 415 State Street in Springfield, Massachusetts, serving 382 students in grades 6–12 — an unusual middle-and-high-school span for a district whose traditional high schools run grades 9–12. It sits at the very bottom of Massachusetts rankings: 350th of 353 schools for 2025-26, in the 1st percentile with 0 stars.

That low performance is not a one-year dip. Across four years of MCAS Next Generation results, no subject has ever exceeded 3.03% proficiency. In 2025-26, ELA proficiency was 0.69%, math 2.08%, and science 1.49%, compared with roughly 22%, 17%, and 21% for the Springfield district and about 40% statewide. Grade-level results show 0% in 10th-grade ELA, math, and science, and 0% in 6th- and 7th-grade ELA and math, so the pattern reaches down into the middle grades rather than reflecting a senior-year exit problem. Every student group the state measures also ranks in the bottom few percent of Massachusetts schools, meaning no single population is insulated from the school-wide trend.

Comparisons close to home are striking. High School Of Commerce, in the same building at 415 State Street, ranks 238th of 353 with 10th-grade ELA at 37.28%. Conservatory of the Arts, also grades 6–12 and a short distance away, reports 100% graduation and much higher proficiency. Libertas Academy Charter School, a nearby 6–12 charter, performs at about state average. Meanwhile Emergence's per-pupil spending was $33,687 in 2020-21 — the highest in this comparison group — and its student-teacher ratio has risen to 12:1, so funding and staffing levels do not appear to be the binding constraint. Also note that the reported 0.0% graduation and 0.0% dropout for 2024-25 are internally inconsistent and likely a reporting artifact.