Summary
Norrback Avenue is a PK–6 elementary school in Worcester, MA, serving 504 students as part of the Worcester district, and in 2025–26 it holds a 1-star rating, ranking 734th of 899 Massachusetts elementary schools (18th percentile) — a modest recovery from its 2023–24 low point, but still in the bottom fifth of the state.
On 2025–26 MCAS, Norrback's proficiency was 21.03% in ELA and 23.61% in math — both below Worcester (24.98% and 24.25%) and far below the state (40.03% and 41.11%). Science is the clear bright spot at 36.96%, above the district's 23.97% and within about 4 points of the state's 40.98%, and up sharply from 23.44% the previous year. Because Science is only tested in grade 5, that likely reflects a specific grade-level strength rather than a broad turnaround. Among nearby Worcester schools, Norrback beats Burncoat Street in math and science and Clark St Community in all three subjects, but trails Lincoln Street, Thorndyke Road, Nelson Place, and Worcester Arts Magnet School, whose ELA results are 15 to 32 points higher. Out-of-district Boylston Elementary School and Leroy E.Mayo score roughly 30–39 points higher in ELA and 24–31 points higher in math.
Effectiveness measures for Norrback's student groups are uneven rather than uniformly low — near the state middle for African American and Hispanic students, and lower for White students, English learners, special education students, and low-income students; these are measures of how well the school serves each group, not judgments about students. Resources are comparatively strong, with $18,792 per student and an 11.8 student–teacher ratio, both better than several nearby schools that still post higher ELA and math scores. In short, Norrback is a low-performing school in ELA and math with a real science strength and mixed results across student groups.
Thank you for your feedback!