Summary:
ZIP code 01355 (New Salem, MA) has one public school in this dataset: Swift River, an elementary school serving grades PK–6 with 134 students, and there are no middle, high, or alternative schools listed in the ZIP. It belongs to the New Salem-Wendell district, so families here have a single local elementary option; students in grades 7–12 likely attend school outside this ZIP.
Swift River’s clearest academic strength is science. In 2025–2026, all-grade science proficiency was 55% versus the state’s 40.98%, and 5th-grade science was 55% versus 43.07%; in 2024–2025, all-grade science was 52.63% versus 41.51%. ELA and math are below state overall: 2025–2026 all-grade ELA was 28% versus 40.03%, and math was 29.33% versus 41.11%. In 2024–2025, ELA was 28.95% versus 41.53%, and math was 25.97% versus 40.74%. Grade-level results vary sharply: 3rd-grade math (40% vs. 42.19%), 5th-grade ELA (35% vs. 38.15%), and 5th-grade math (30% vs. 39.50%) are closer to state, while 6th-grade math (17.65% vs. 42.59%), 6th-grade ELA (23.53% vs. 40.26%), and 4th-grade ELA (21.74% vs. 37.43%) are much lower. With only 134 students, small cohorts can swing these percentages.
The district is ranked 276 of 351, in the 21st percentile with 1 star, while Swift River’s recent accountability history shows 2 stars and low-30s percentiles; its 2025–2026 rank is 601 of 899, or the 33rd percentile. From 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, math improved from 25.97% to 29.33% and science from 52.63% to 55%, while ELA dipped from 28.95% to 28%. Swift River reports a 9.1 student-teacher ratio (2024–2025) and $24,376 per-pupil spending (2020–2021), but those resource indicators do not correspond to above-state ELA/math outcomes; no causal conclusion should be drawn. Free/reduced lunch is not reported for 2024–2025, so it should not be treated as zero. School and district scores are identical in every reported test row, suggesting Swift River may be the only tested school in the district.
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