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Henry Whittemore Elementary School

Q: Is Henry Whittemore Elementary School a good school?

Henry Whittemore Elementary School ranks 658 th of 906 Massachusetts elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

658^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 906 Massachusetts Elementary Schools

Better than 27% of Massachusetts elementary schools

Summary

Henry Whittemore Elementary School is a public elementary school in Waltham, Massachusetts, serving 386 students from kindergarten to 5th grade. The school is part of the Waltham school district, which is ranked 240 out of 348 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Henry Whittemore Elementary consistently ranks in the bottom half of Massachusetts elementary schools, with a ranking between 658-834 out of 906-942 schools over the past 10 years. Its performance on MCAS Next Generation assessments is also significantly below the Waltham district and Massachusetts state averages across all grades and subjects. However, the school performs better for Hispanic students and English Language Learners, ranking in the top 50% of schools in those categories. When compared to nearby schools like William F. Stanley Elementary and Thomas R. Plympton Elementary, both in Waltham, Henry Whittemore consistently underperforms.

Despite the school's high per-student spending of around $22,000-$23,000 and low student-teacher ratio ranging from 9.5 to 10.7 students per teacher, its academic performance remains a concern. The school's ranking has steadily declined over the past 10 years, suggesting that the challenges may be worsening over time. Further investigation into instructional practices, curriculum, and student demographics may be necessary to identify and address the root causes of the school's underperformance.

372

Students ?

9.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$25,757

Per pupil spending ?

73.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

30 Parmenter Road
Waltham, MA 02453

(781) 314-5785

District: Waltham

Students who attend Henry Whittemore Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	John W. McDevitt Middle School
High:	Waltham Senior High

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

77.2%

White:

10.8%

African American:

4.8%

See top rated Massachusetts elementary schools

Compare Henry Whittemore Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 11th percentile in 2015 → 27th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 16 percentile points since 2015

✓Small classes — about 9 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Massachusetts average (28% vs 41% meeting standards)

!Science scores 23 pts below the Massachusetts average

!Near the bottom of Waltham's ranking

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school28%

District avg39%

Massachusetts avg41%

658^th of 906

Massachusetts public elementary schools ?

Bottom 27%▲ up 16 pts since 2015

From bottom 11% (2015) to bottom 27% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Massachusetts Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

7^th of 7Elementary Schools in the Waltham

240^th of 348Waltham 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	27.2	658 of 906	27.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.7	711 of 916	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	14.1	815 of 928	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	12.7	834 of 932	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	18.5	762 of 936	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.9	731 of 942	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.9	668 of 934	28.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	28.3	708 of 938	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	17.8	803 of 932	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	14.5	809 of 914	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	11.2	847 of 926	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	24.2	743 of 928	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	15.4	807 of 930	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	16.6	790 of 924	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	24.3	738 of 920	19.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	26.3	723 of 909	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	35.4	637 of 908	29.8%	★★☆☆☆
2007	29.2	706 of 911	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	33.9	650 of 911	28.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	33.6	614 of 887	30.8%	★★☆☆☆
2004	37.3	591 of 882	33.0%	★★☆☆☆
2003	36.1	610 of 884	31.0%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2022	15.1	658 of 672	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	14.4	624 of 632	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	27.8	498 of 665	25.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	18.0	611 of 656	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2025	44.9	124 of 281	55.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	65.1	44 of 282	84.4%	★★★★☆
2023	30.1	218 of 264	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	32.4	199 of 267	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	37.2	142 of 240	40.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	31.0	180 of 258	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	42.0	121 of 244	50.4%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2025	27.0	642 of 869	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.8	690 of 886	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.2	684 of 887	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.4	752 of 901	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	23.3	691 of 898	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.8	770 of 902	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	32.1	649 of 893	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2025	49.8	199 of 458	56.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	42.1	242 of 446	45.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	26.1	348 of 420	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.8	356 of 401	11.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	35.6	236 of 379	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	58.0	135 of 398	66.1%	★★★☆☆
2018	66.6	77 of 379	79.7%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2025	39.5	451 of 736	38.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	32.1	567 of 760	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.1	681 of 757	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.3	692 of 772	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	36.9	457 of 705	35.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	42.5	416 of 700	40.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	49.0	335 of 685	51.1%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2025	30.0	624 of 884	29.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.8	694 of 891	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	8.6	859 of 896	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	9.0	871 of 908	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	16.8	764 of 904	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	37.1	592 of 907	34.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	34.2	624 of 898	30.5%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2024	21.1	624 of 731	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.1	827 of 905	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	25.8	712 of 894	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	43.6	524 of 896	41.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	48.1	441 of 886	50.2%	★★★☆☆

Tested In Person

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2021	18.9	749 of 925	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Tested Remotely

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2021	28.3	278 of 399	30.3%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2022	55.4	345 of 764	54.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	37.3	536 of 772	30.6%	★★☆☆☆

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)

Hispanic (2025)57th percentile+29 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)56th percentile+28 vs school

White (2022)55th percentile+44 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)39th percentile+11 vs school

Tested Remotely (2021)30th percentile+12 vs school

Male (2025)29th percentile~ school

Female (2025)26th percentile~ school

Tested In Person (2021)19th percentile~ school

Special Education (2024)15th percentile-8 vs school

Disabled (2022)2nd percentile-8 vs school

By subject vs Massachusetts (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics34%-7 vs state

English Language Arts27%-14 vs state

Science19%-23 vs state

5.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a student
Wednesday, October 12, 2016

I attended Whittemore back in the early to mid 2000's even though that was a long time ago my ten year old brother attends it now and they have toughen their curriculum which is great in my opinion Close Quote

Schools Near Henry Whittemore Elementary School

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
Henry Whittemore Elementary School	Public	K-5	30 Parmenter Road	Waltham	02453	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	Yes	(781) 314-5785	372	41	9.0		40 (10.8%)	18 (4.8%)	287 (77.2%)	14 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.5%)	27.2	658^th of 906 public elementary schools	27.4%		22.7	711^th of 916 public elementary schools	22.4%	53	22.2	34.7	25.7	27.2	29.6	49.0	25.7	33.5	18.6	18.6	$25,757
Franklin	Public	K-5	125 Derby Street	West Newton	02465	Middlesex County	Newton	No	No	No	No	(617) 559-9500	320	32	9.8		190 (59.4%)	12 (3.8%)	41 (12.8%)	48 (15.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (8.8%)	74.9	230^th of 906 public elementary schools	74.6%		79	195^th of 916 public elementary schools	78.7%	35	42.0	56.2	71.0	57.3	40.8	52.1	67.7	54.4	74.2	74.2	$24,300
Horace Mann	Public	K-5	225 Nevada Street	Newtonville	02460	Middlesex County	Newton	No	No	No	No	(617) 559-9510	351	33	10.5		187 (53.3%)	18 (5.1%)	39 (11.1%)	64 (18.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (12.0%)	78.1	203^rd of 906 public elementary schools	77.6%		76.4	232^nd of 916 public elementary schools	74.7%	29	49.2	46.7	64.3	53.9	55.0	63.3	65.7	61.6	68.6	68.6	$23,213
C C Burr	Public	K-5	171 Pine Street	Auburndale	02466	Middlesex County	Newton	No	No	No	Yes	(617) 559-9360	350	31	11.1		169 (48.3%)	16 (4.6%)	49 (14.0%)	82 (23.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (8.3%)	93.6	42^nd of 906 public elementary schools	95.4%		84.3	131^st of 916 public elementary schools	85.7%	89	71.2	68.5	67.2	69.0	78.0	75.9	77.1	77.0	77.1	77.1	$24,527
William F. Stanley Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	250 South Street	Waltham	02453	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	Yes	(781) 314-5620	381	45	8.4		101 (26.5%)	47 (12.3%)	189 (49.6%)	30 (7.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (3.7%)	35.4	591^st of 906 public elementary schools	34.8%		41.2	552^nd of 916 public elementary schools	39.7%	39	26.2	25.5	40.0	31.1	28.6	34.0	32.7	32.0	47.3	47.3	$32,435
Thomas R Plympton Elementary School	Public	K-5	20 Farnsworth Street	Waltham	02451	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	Yes	(781) 314-5760	357	35	10.1		139 (38.9%)	48 (13.4%)	136 (38.1%)	15 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (5.3%)	38.3	567^th of 906 public elementary schools	37.4%		25.9	678^th of 916 public elementary schools	26.0%	111	50.0	27.3	31.8	36.7	48.2	40.9	22.6	36.3	29.0	29.0	$25,849
James Fitzgerald Elementary School	Public	K-5	138 Beal Road	Waltham	02453	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	No	(781) 314-5685	350	35	9.9		177 (50.6%)	11 (3.1%)	121 (34.6%)	20 (5.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (5.7%)	53.7	417^th of 906 public elementary schools	54.0%		56.7	405^th of 916 public elementary schools	55.8%	12	44.1	47.3	33.3	42.3	52.9	56.4	37.8	50.0	28.9	28.9	$25,923
Peirce	Public	K-5	170 Temple Street	West Newton	02465	Middlesex County	Newton	No	No	No	No	(617) 559-9630	249	21	11.7		140 (56.2%)	10 (4.0%)	31 (12.4%)	44 (17.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (9.2%)	89.3	79^th of 906 public elementary schools	91.3%		90.5	66^th of 916 public elementary schools	92.8%	13	70.3	59.5	66.7	65.5	67.6	67.6	75.0	70.2	70.0	70.0	$27,945
Cunniff	Public	PK, KG-5	246 Warren Street	Watertown	02472	Middlesex County	Watertown	No	No	No	Yes	(617) 926-7726	320	40	8.0		181 (56.6%)	8 (2.5%)	76 (23.8%)	21 (6.6%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (10.3%)	65.2	327^th of 906 public elementary schools	63.9%		60.9	357^th of 916 public elementary schools	61.0%	30	51.0	45.7	42.0	46.3	54.9	54.4	52.0	53.7	52.0	52.0	$28,636
Lincoln-Eliot	Public	K-5	191 Pearl Street	Newton	02458	Middlesex County	Newton	No	No	No	Yes	(617) 559-9540	336	36	9.3		129 (38.4%)	24 (7.1%)	71 (21.1%)	74 (22.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (11.3%)	70.8	274^th of 906 public elementary schools	69.8%		82.2	153^rd of 916 public elementary schools	83.3%	121	44.0	50.0	54.6	49.3	54.0	66.1	54.6	58.7	54.6	54.6	$26,479

Frequently Asked Questions about Henry Whittemore Elementary School

Is Henry Whittemore Elementary School a good school?

Henry Whittemore Elementary School ranks 658^th of 906 Massachusetts elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

What schools do graduates of Henry Whittemore Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Henry Whittemore Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : John W. McDevitt Middle School
High : Waltham Senior High

What district is Henry Whittemore Elementary School in?

Waltham

How many students attend Henry Whittemore Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 372 students attended Henry Whittemore Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Henry Whittemore Elementary School?

Students at Henry Whittemore Elementary School are 77% Hispanic, 11% White, 5% African American, 4% Asian, 3% Two or more races.

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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.