Best Public Schools in Wakefield, RI

Wakefield, Rhode Island, has three public schools serving 1,488 students from kindergarten through grade 12: Matunuck School (K–5, 246 students), Broad Rock Middle School (grades 6–8, 554), and South Kingstown High (grades 9–12, 688). The strongest shared takeaway is that every school’s reported 2025–26 results were above the matching state proficiency rate, though the size of the advantage varies by school and subject.

Matunuck School stands out in reading and math among the two schools reporting RICAS results: its proficiency was 62% in ELA and 64.5% in math, compared with 54.5% and 51% at Broad Rock Middle School. Broad Rock’s standout subject is science, at 61.4%, ahead of Matunuck’s 47.2% and South Kingstown High’s 42.2%; those figures cover different grade spans. The high school was above state rates in both reported SAT and PSAT10 subjects and had a 99.3% graduation rate, versus 85.5% statewide. SchoolDigger ranks Broad Rock 7th of 68 middle schools (5 stars), Matunuck 18th of 163 elementary schools (4 stars), and South Kingstown High 10th of 58 high schools (4 stars).

Recent results show different patterns rather than uniform improvement. Matunuck’s ELA and math rose 13.6 and 13.7 percentage points from 2024–25, while its science result fell 7.9 points; Broad Rock’s ELA and math dipped 1.4 and 1.9 points, while science rose 17.1. At the high school, grade 11 SAT ELA fell 13.3 points, but grade 10 PSAT10 math rose 20.2. SchoolDigger rankings improved for all three schools over the prior year. Student–teacher ratios are similar, ranging from 10.7 to 11.7, and reported free/reduced-lunch rates range from 24.8% to 28.7%; these are context, not explanations for results. Because schools report different tests and grade spans, results are best compared within matching measures.