Bow School District

Bow School District serves students in grades PK–12 across three schools in Bow, New Hampshire: Bow Elementary School, Bow Memorial School, and Bow High School. About 1,688 students attend the district, which ranks 40th of 166 New Hampshire districts, placing it around the 76th percentile statewide. Overall, the district offers a strong academic foundation, especially in elementary and middle school, with excellent graduation and dropout results at the high school.

Bow Elementary School is the district’s top-ranked school, placing 20th of 230 elementary schools and earning five stars. It has especially strong mathematics results, with 75% of students proficient compared with 44% statewide, while 70% are proficient in reading. Bow Memorial School ranks 24th of 138 middle schools and has improved steadily over the past three years. Its reading and science results are well above state averages, although fifth-grade mathematics is a concern at 38%; performance rises substantially in grades 6–8. These schools provide the district’s clearest academic strengths, with strong reading across grade levels and particularly impressive elementary mathematics.

Bow High School ranks 28th of 89 high schools and remains above the statewide midpoint, but it is the main area requiring attention. Its graduation rate is excellent at 96.6%, and its dropout rate is 0%, yet recent proficiency results declined to 32% in mathematics, 64% in reading, and 38% in science. Mathematics is the largest gap compared with the lower grades and the district overall. Parents may want to watch how the district supports the transition into high school, strengthens secondary mathematics, and responds to the recent reading decline while preserving the strong completion outcomes.