Summary:
ZIP code 02860 has two Pawtucket middle schools serving grades 6–8: Joseph Jenks Middle School and Samuel Slater Middle School. In 2025–2026, both schools’ all-grades proficiency results were below the state and Pawtucket district results in ELA, math, and science. Their unweighted average was 10% in ELA, 7% in math, and 9% in science, compared with state results of 33%, 32%, and 31%—gaps of 23, 25, and 22 percentage points. The most important finding is that both schools are substantially below state proficiency in every subject.
Jenks stands out overall, leading Slater in all three all-grades subjects, though the lead is clearest in science: 11% versus 6%, a 5-point difference. In ELA, the results are 10.3% and 9.8%, a 1-point gap; in math, the rounded results are 8% and 6%, with Jenks ahead by 1 point. The grade-level picture has exceptions: Slater leads in seventh-grade ELA by 2 points and eighth-grade ELA by 1 point, while Jenks leads in sixth-grade ELA by 5 points and eighth-grade science by 5 points. Even Slater’s strongest grade-level result, seventh-grade ELA, is 19 points below the state.
Recent changes are mixed, not a consistent upward or downward trend: Jenks fell 3 points in ELA but rose 2 in science, while Slater rose 2 points in ELA and slipped 1 in math; both schools’ other subject changes were less than a point. SchoolDigger gives Jenks 1 star and ranks it 62 of 68 statewide, while Slater has 0 stars and ranks 65 of 68; their latest reported percentiles are 9th and 4th. School characteristics differ too: Jenks has a 16.2 student-teacher ratio and 80% free/reduced-lunch eligibility, compared with Slater’s 12.8 ratio and 87% eligibility; Slater also reports higher per-student spending ($15,710 versus $13,603). These are observations, not explanations for the score differences.
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