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Teachers: what resource would make the biggest difference at Bigelow Middle this year?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
434
Middle
DISTRICT 664 · STATE 547
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NEWTON·NCES 250861000307
Bigelow Middle
42 Vernon St, Newton, MA 02458 · (617) 559-6800 · Middlesex County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE13-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL434 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
10.0:1
44 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 10.2:1 · STATE 11.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
,
Title I proxy
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 167 | 38% |
| Grade 7 | 141 | 32% |
| Grade 8 | 126 | 29% |
Student demographics
67%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 65% · STATE 65% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
MCAS 2024-25 . % Meeting or Exceeding ExpectationsEnglish Language Arts
71.0%
MA avg 43.8% . +4.0pp since 2016
Math
65.0%
MA avg 42.2% . -7.0pp since 2016
What this means: On the MCAS, Massachusetts's statewide test, about 71 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 65 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Massachusetts schools, those numbers are about 44 and 42. Reading and writing scores are up about 4 points since 2016, while math scores are down about 7 points.
MCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 71.0% | 65.0% |
| 2023-24 | 68.0% | 58.0% |
| 2022-23 | 69.0% | 64.0% |
| 2021-22 | 64.0% | 62.0% |
| 2020-21 | 65.0% | 57.0% |
| 2018-19 | 71.0% | 72.0% |
| 2017-18 | 62.0% | 68.0% |
| 2016-17 | 67.0% | 72.0% |
% Meeting or Exceeding Expectations, all students and all tested grades.
Source: MCAS. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
Where Bigelow Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Massachusetts | In Middlesex County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 65.0% | #44 of 304 ▲ 22 | #27 of 70 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 71.0% | #29 of 304 ▼ 2 | #17 of 70 ▼ 3 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +5.0pp | #62 of 299 | #21 of 69 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 434 | #209 of 310 | #60 of 72 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 10.0:1 | #58 of 296 | #21 of 70 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 67.1% | #22 of 296 | #10 of 70 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -16.7% | #61 of 204 | #8 of 41 |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
434
-72 (-14%) vs 2020
-7% since 2000-01, when it was 465
Student : Teacher
10.0:1
was 10.3:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 434 | 43.5 | 10.0:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 414 | 41 | 10.1:1 | N/A |
| 2022-23 | 435 | 44.6 | 9.8:1 | N/A |
| 2020-21 | 506 | 49 | 10.3:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 521 | 52.1 | 10.0:1 | N/A |
| 2015-16 | 508 | 51 | 10.0:1 | N/A |
| 2010-11 | 523 | 45 | 11.6:1 | 15% (81) |
| 2000-01 | 465 | N/A | N/A | 14% (66) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Bigelow Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 17% (521 to 434); teachers down 16% (52.1 to 43.5).
About Bigelow Middle
Bigelow Middle is a small middle school found in Newton, Massachusetts. The grade span is 6 through 8, and enrollment is 434 students. An average school in this group (middle schools in Massachusetts) has about 547 students.
Bigelow Middle is part of Newton, where 22 schools serve 11,632 students.
White students account for 51% of enrollment at Bigelow Middle. Enrollment also includes 18% Hispanic, 16% Asian, 10% multiracial, and 5% Black. The school's White share is 16 points below the 67% share among Middlesex County residents. The chance that two students picked at random at Bigelow Middle belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 67%.
Teacher staffing is 43.5 full-time equivalents, or about 10.0 students per teacher. The 11.5:1 average for middle schools in Massachusetts is higher than this school's figure.
Census estimates describe Middlesex County this way: median household income is about $130,847, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 60% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 5%. Federal data list 386 public schools in Middlesex County, with a combined enrollment of about 215,896.
The closest other public school is Underwood, about 0.2 miles away. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles.
Locale data from NCES put Bigelow Middle inside a principal city with a population under 100,000 (City: Small).
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the student count declined from 506 to 434.
Threads on this page can be about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Middlesex County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,638,365
Census ACS
Median income
$130,847
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
60%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
386
215,896 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Newton
- Newton North HighHigh · 2,096 students
- Newton South HighHigh · 1,898 students
- F A Day MiddleMiddle · 860 students
- Charles E Brown MiddleMiddle · 713 students
- Oak Hill MiddleMiddle · 649 students
- CabotElementary · 414 students
Other schools in Newton
- Oak Hill MiddleMiddle · 649 students
- Lincoln-EliotElementary · 336 students
- UnderwoodElementary · 253 students
- Newton Early Childhood ProgramElementary · 173 students
Nearby schools
- Underwood0.2 mi · 253
- Lincoln-Eliot0.8 mi · 336
- John Ward0.9 mi · 186
- Cabot0.9 mi · 414
- Lyon K-8 School1.0 mi · 143
- Lyon High School1.0 mi · 95
Frequently asked questions
About Bigelow MiddleHow many students attend Bigelow Middle?
Bigelow Middle enrolls approximately 434 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Bigelow Middle serve?
Bigelow Middle serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bigelow Middle?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Bigelow Middle is approximately 10.0:1 (44 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Bigelow Middle?
At Bigelow Middle, the student body is approximately 51% White, 18% Hispanic, 5% Black, 16% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Is Bigelow Middle public or private?
Bigelow Middle is a public K-12 school, overseen by Newton.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.