Summary:
Zip code 02452 is home to two elementary schools, both part of the Waltham school district: Northeast Elementary School, which serves grades PK–5 with 527 students, and Dual Language School, which serves grades K–5 with 222 students. Together they enroll 749 students, and Northeast is roughly 2.4 times the size of Dual Language. Both schools share the same district context: Waltham ranks 231 of 351 districts in Massachusetts, in the 34th percentile with 2 stars.
The two schools are moving in opposite directions. Northeast has improved its standing for three straight years, rising from 27th percentile in 2023–2024 to 34th percentile in 2025–2026, and it gained ground year over year in all-grade ELA (28% to 29.95%), math (37.69% to 38.07%), and science (21.33% to 27.69%). Dual Language has slipped, from 43rd percentile to 32nd percentile, and declined in every subject at the all-grade level: ELA (34.91% to 32.38%), math (37.74% to 29.52%), and science (44.12% to 39.39%). In 2025–2026 the two schools crossed over, with Northeast ranked 589 of 899 and Dual Language 609 of 899, though both still hold 2 stars.
Their strengths are nearly mirror images. Northeast is stronger in math (38.07% vs. 29.52% at the all-grade level), and its 4th-grade math score of 43.10% is essentially at the state average of 43.20%. Dual Language is stronger in science (39.39% vs. 27.69%) and ELA (32.38% vs. 29.95%), and its science remains above the district even after its decline. Northeast also has the more favorable resources in this dataset, with a student-teacher ratio of 10.7 versus 13.1 and per-student spending of $23,912 versus $19,574. Free/reduced-lunch percentages are not provided for either school, so those differences cannot be fully contextualized. Both schools generally trail state averages.
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