Summary
Rice Square is a K–5 elementary school in Worcester, MA, serving 502 students. In 2025–2026 it ranked 774th out of 899 Massachusetts elementary schools — the 14th percentile, or 1 star. The Worcester district itself ranks 304th of 351 districts (13th percentile, 1 star), so Rice Square performs near the district average — but that average is low. The school has never exceeded the 16th percentile in the years provided, and recent years have held steady around the 11th–16th percentile, so this is not a one-year dip.
On 2025–2026 MCAS Next Generation tests, all-grades proficiency was 14.65% in English language arts, 20.71% in math, and 32.26% in science. ELA is the weakest area — far below district and state, and below most nearby schools, though similar to Union Hill School, Grafton Street, and Vernon Hill School. Math is mid-low locally: above Quinsigamond and City View, below Belmont Street Community and Roosevelt. Science is a bright spot: above the district's 23.97% and second only to Lake View among nearby schools. Grade by grade, 5th grade is above district in all three subjects, while 3rd and 4th grades are below district in ELA and math, with 3rd-grade ELA at 8.45% — less than a third of the district rate and under a fifth of the state rate.
Subgroup results show uneven but notable progress: English language learner students rank at the 75th percentile (4 stars), up from the 48th and 30th percentiles in prior years, and special education students rose to the 44th percentile from the 2nd–4th percentile range. The student-teacher ratio is 15.2, the highest among nearby same-district Worcester schools, with per-student spending of $15,809, mid-range for the group. Lake View, 1.65 miles away, ranks at the 66th percentile with lower enrollment, slightly lower spending, and a slightly lower ratio, yet two to three times higher proficiency — suggesting factors beyond spending and class size are at work.
Thank you for your feedback!