Portsmouth

Portsmouth has four schools serving 2,114 students from prekindergarten through grade 12: two elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. Enrollment ranges from 316 at Melville School to 785 at Portsmouth High School. Results are generally strong compared with state figures, though performance differs among schools and subjects. The clearest overall takeaway is that every school is above the state in its reported 2025–26 comparisons.

Portsmouth High School stands out for high-school results: its SAT, PSAT10 and science proficiency rates are 15.0 to 36.2 percentage points above the corresponding state results, and its graduation rate is 97.2% versus 85.5% statewide. Among the elementary schools, Melville School leads Howard Hathaway School in all-grades ELA by 12.9 points and math by 5.9 points; its grade 4 ELA lead is 15 points. Howard Hathaway is lower of the two elementary schools, but remains above state results in the reported comparisons. Portsmouth Middle School is also above state results across its reported subjects and grades. SchoolDigger ranks Portsmouth High 5th of 58, Portsmouth Middle 8th of 68, Melville 14th of 163 and Howard Hathaway 25th of 163.

Recent changes are mixed, with the reported RICAS results mostly declining: from 2024–25 to 2025–26, the three RICAS schools’ unweighted average fell 2.1 points in ELA and 2.5 in math. Melville’s math rose 1.2 points, while its ELA fell 3.0; Portsmouth Middle’s science fell 7.2 points. High-school results moved in different directions by test and subject: SAT math rose 3.5 points, while PSAT10 math fell 4.6. School context also varies: student–teacher ratios range from 11.3 at Portsmouth High to 13.6 at Howard Hathaway, and reported free/reduced-lunch rates range from 15.82% at Melville to 23.96% at Howard Hathaway. These are useful context, not explanations for score differences.