1
What's the vibe like in the hallways at Ottoson Middle right now?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
963
Middle
DISTRICT 746 · STATE 547
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ARLINGTON·NCES 250198000063
Ottoson Middle
63 Acton Street, Arlington, MA 02476 · (781) 316-3745 · Middlesex County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL963 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
11.4:1
85 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.9:1 · 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 7 | 466 | 48% |
| Grade 8 | 497 | 52% |
Student demographics
50%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 54% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Ottoson Middle→Arlington High
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Arlington. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MCAS 2024-25 . % Meeting or Exceeding ExpectationsEnglish Language Arts
80.0%
MA avg 43.8% . +7.0pp since 2016
Math
76.0%
MA avg 42.2% . +7.0pp since 2016
What this means: On the MCAS, Massachusetts's statewide test, about 80 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 76 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 7 points since 2016, while math scores are up about 7 points.
MCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 80.0% | 76.0% |
| 2023-24 | 72.0% | 74.0% |
| 2022-23 | 74.0% | 74.0% |
| 2021-22 | 75.0% | 73.0% |
| 2020-21 | 69.0% | 65.0% |
| 2018-19 | 76.0% | 76.0% |
| 2017-18 | 73.0% | 73.0% |
| 2016-17 | 73.0% | 69.0% |
% Meeting or Exceeding Expectations, all students and all tested grades.
Source: MCAS. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
Where Ottoson Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Massachusetts | In Middlesex County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 76.0% | #11 of 304 ▲ 2 | #9 of 70 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 80.0% | #3 of 304 ▲ 8 | #2 of 70 ▲ 4 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +4.0pp | #79 of 299 | #26 of 69 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 963 | #17 of 310 | #6 of 72 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.4:1 | #138 of 296 | #42 of 70 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 50.4% | #124 of 296 | #42 of 70 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -23.4% | #25 of 204 | #4 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
963
+71 (+8%) vs 2020
+80% since 1990-91, when it was 535
Student : Teacher
11.4:1
was 11.7:1
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 | 963 | 84.5 | 11.4:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 941 | 85.3 | 11.0:1 | N/A |
| 2022-23 | 922 | 82.4 | 11.2:1 | N/A |
| 2020-21 | 892 | 76 | 11.7:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 1,258 | 94.2 | 13.4:1 | N/A |
| 2015-16 | 1,127 | 90 | 12.5:1 | N/A |
| 2010-11 | 1,051 | 74 | 14.2:1 | 13% (132) |
| 2000-01 | 1,010 | N/A | N/A | 9% (92) |
| 1990-91 | 535 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Ottoson Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 23% (1,258 to 963); teachers down 10% (94.2 to 84.5).
About Ottoson Middle
Ottoson Middle is a high-enrollment middle-grades school serving families in Arlington, Massachusetts. The school serves 963 students in grades 7 through 8 in 2024-25. For comparison, middle schools in Massachusetts average about 547 students.
Arlington enrolls 6,113 students, and its 11 schools include Ottoson Middle.
A majority of students at Ottoson Middle, 68%, are White. Next come 14% Asian, 9% Hispanic, 6% multiracial, and 3% Black. County-wide, about 67% of residents are White. Ottoson Middle has a diversity index of 50%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Teacher staffing is 84.5 full-time equivalents, or about 11.4 students per teacher. Middle schools in Massachusetts average about 11.5:1, a similar figure.
Among Middlesex County residents, median household income is about $130,847, 60% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 5% of people live in poverty. Federal data list 386 public schools in Middlesex County, with a combined enrollment of about 215,896.
The closest public school to Ottoson Middle is Peirce, about 0.5 miles away. Within five miles of Ottoson Middle, there are at least 8 other public schools.
The school is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more, according to its NCES locale (Suburb: Large).
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, Ottoson Middle went from 892 students to 963.
Topics for discussion here include school safety, transportation, and start times. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
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 Arlington
- Arlington HighHigh · 1,677 students
- ThompsonElementary · 537 students
- Gibbs SchoolMiddle · 529 students
- M Norcross StrattonElementary · 448 students
- BrackettElementary · 394 students
- Cyrus E DallinElementary · 390 students
Other schools in Arlington
- Arlington HighHigh · 1,677 students
- ThompsonElementary · 537 students
- Gibbs SchoolMiddle · 529 students
- M Norcross StrattonElementary · 448 students
- BrackettElementary · 394 students
- Cyrus E DallinElementary · 390 students
Nearby schools
- Peirce0.5 mi · 318
- Brackett0.6 mi · 394
- M Norcross Stratton0.7 mi · 448
- Cyrus E Dallin0.7 mi · 390
- Arlington High0.7 mi · 1,677
- Menotomy Preschool1.0 mi · 100
Frequently asked questions
About Ottoson MiddleWhat is the total enrollment at Ottoson Middle?
Ottoson Middle enrolls approximately 963 students in grades 07-08.
Is Ottoson Middle an elementary, middle, or high school?
Ottoson Middle is a middle school covering grades 07-08.
How many students per teacher at Ottoson Middle?
Approximately 11.4:1 students per teacher at Ottoson Middle.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Ottoson Middle?
At Ottoson Middle, the student body is approximately 68% White, 9% Hispanic, 3% Black, 14% Asian, 6% Two or more.
What district is Ottoson Middle in?
Ottoson Middle is part of Arlington.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.