Best Public Schools in Zip Code 01983

ZIP code 01983 (Topsfield, MA) contains two public schools, both in the Topsfield district: Steward Elementary, which serves grades PK–3 with 347 students, and Proctor Elementary, which serves grades 4–6 with 251 students. Together they enroll 598 students spanning PK–6. The area has no high schools and no alternative schools in this data, so older students attend school outside the ZIP. Available data covers MCAS Next Generation proficiency for 2025–2026 and 2024–2025, student-teacher ratios for 2024–2025, and per-student spending for 2020–2021; free/reduced lunch percentages are listed but blank for both schools, so no economic context can be analyzed.

Both schools perform well above the state. Steward Elementary leads in English language arts and math, scoring 61.97% in ELA and 56.34% in math in 2025–2026, versus the state's 40.03% and 41.11%. Because Steward serves PK–3, those all-grades figures are effectively 3rd-grade results, and they beat the state's 3rd-grade averages of 42.79% and 42.19%. Proctor Elementary stands out in science, at 55.84% in 2025–2026 and 72.62% in 2024–2025, against a state figure near 41% each year, and in 6th-grade ELA at 66.27% versus the state's 40.26%. Proctor's student-teacher ratio (10.4) and per-student spending ($18,943) are slightly lower than Steward's (11.1 and $19,355).

Two cautions matter. First, the schools serve different grade spans, so the most meaningful comparisons are against state and district benchmarks rather than directly against each other. Second, Proctor's science score fell 16.78 points year over year, and its ELA and math also declined; since science is typically tested in 5th grade, that likely reflects a different cohort rather than a school-wide change. Even after the drop, both schools and the district remained above the state in every reported subject and year.