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Welcome to the Thomas Ditson community. What's one thing that would make Thomas Ditson even better?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
542
Elementary
DISTRICT 406 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BILLERICA·NCES 250267000186
Thomas Ditson
39 Cook Street, Billerica, MA 01821 · (978) 528-8510 · Middlesex County
GRADES KG–04ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL542 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 43% of Massachusetts public elementary schools
- BTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ·Beats expectations Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
- DThree-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Massachusetts public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
16.9:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.7:1 · STATE 12.2:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
,
Title I proxy
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 92 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 105 | 19% |
| Grade 2 | 117 | 22% |
| Grade 3 | 119 | 22% |
| Grade 4 | 109 | 20% |
This year's kindergarten class (92) is 16% smaller than its 4th grade class (109).
Student demographics
54%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 53% · 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
34.0%
MA avg 43.8% . -18.0pp since 2016
Math
54.0%
MA avg 42.2% . -1.0pp since 2016
What this means: On the MCAS, Massachusetts's statewide test, about 34 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 54 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Massachusetts schools, those numbers are about 44 and 42. Reading and writing scores are down about 18 points since 2016, while math scores are down about 1 points.
MCAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 34.0% | 54.0% |
| 2023-24 | 39.0% | 57.0% |
| 2022-23 | 48.0% | 55.0% |
| 2021-22 | 49.0% | 57.0% |
| 2020-21 | 59.0% | 46.0% |
| 2018-19 | 61.0% | 51.0% |
| 2017-18 | 59.0% | 49.0% |
| 2016-17 | 52.0% | 55.0% |
% Meeting or Exceeding Expectations, all students and all tested grades.
Source: MCAS. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
Where Thomas Ditson ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Massachusetts | In Middlesex County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 54.0% | #293 of 920 ▼ 21 | #110 of 207 ▼ 4 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 34.0% | #586 of 920 ▼ 112 | #166 of 207 ▼ 19 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -9.0pp | #75 of 901 | #16 of 206 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 542 | #184 of 1,086 | #37 of 238 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.9:1 | #916 of 938 | #221 of 222 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 54.0% | #424 of 938 | #139 of 222 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +1.1% | #295 of 317 | #69 of 77 |
Ranked against other public elementary 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
542
+15 (+3%) vs 2020
+21% since 1990-91, when it was 448
Student : Teacher
16.9:1
was 14.6:1
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 | 542 | 32.1 | 16.9:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 551 | 33.2 | 16.6:1 | N/A |
| 2022-23 | 557 | 33.2 | 16.8:1 | N/A |
| 2020-21 | 527 | 36 | 14.6:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 536 | 39.9 | 13.4:1 | N/A |
| 2015-16 | 548 | 39 | 14.1:1 | N/A |
| 2010-11 | 727 | 46 | 15.8:1 | 12% (88) |
| 2000-01 | 523 | N/A | N/A | 7% (39) |
| 1990-91 | 448 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Thomas Ditson.
Since 2017-18: students up 1% (536 to 542); teachers down 20% (39.9 to 32.1).
About Thomas Ditson
As a mid-sized elementary school, Thomas Ditson serves students in Billerica, Massachusetts. It teaches 542 students in kindergarten through 4. It has 42% more students than the average for elementary schools in Massachusetts (about 381).
Billerica is responsible for 8 schools, Thomas Ditson included, with 4,972 students in all.
At Thomas Ditson, 65% of students are White. The school is also 15% Asian, 11% Hispanic, 5% Black, and 4% multiracial. Census estimates put Middlesex County at about 67% White, close to the school's figure. A diversity index of 54% means there is a 54% chance two randomly chosen students at Thomas Ditson are from different groups.
The student-to-teacher ratio is 16.9:1. The school has 32.1 full-time-equivalent teachers. Across elementary schools in Massachusetts, the average ratio is 12.2:1.
Thomas Ditson earns a C+ on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 43% of Massachusetts public elementary schools.
The school's county is Middlesex County. According to Census Bureau estimates, the median household earns about $130,847 a year, roughly 60% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 5%. Thomas Ditson shares Middlesex County with 385 other public schools.
Shawsheen Valley Vocational Technical High School is the nearest public school to Thomas Ditson, about 0.8 miles away. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as Suburb: Large, meaning it is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Over the 4 years from 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment rose 3%. The ratio of students to teachers went from 14.6:1 to 16.9:1 over the same years.
Parents, students, and staff can share information on pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback here. Members of the school community can share what they know.
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 Billerica
- Billerica Memorial High SchoolHigh · 1,816 students
- Marshall Middle SchoolMiddle · 596 students
- Locke MiddleMiddle · 531 students
- ParkerElementary · 446 students
- Hajjar ElementaryElementary · 401 students
- John F KennedyElementary · 330 students
Other schools in Billerica
- Billerica Memorial High SchoolHigh · 1,816 students
- Shawsheen Valley Vocational Technical High SchoolHigh · 1,282 students
- Marshall Middle SchoolMiddle · 596 students
- Locke MiddleMiddle · 531 students
- ParkerElementary · 446 students
- Hajjar ElementaryElementary · 401 students
Nearby schools
- Shawsheen Valley Vocational Technical High School0.8 mi · 1,282
- Pine Glen Elementary1.4 mi · 320
- Locke Middle1.5 mi · 531
- Fox Hill1.9 mi · 437
- Boutwell1.9 mi · 128
- West Intermediate2.0 mi · 309
Frequently asked questions
About Thomas DitsonHow many students attend Thomas Ditson?
Thomas Ditson enrolls approximately 542 students in grades KG-04.
Is Thomas Ditson an elementary, middle, or high school?
Thomas Ditson is an elementary school covering grades KG-04.
How many teachers does Thomas Ditson have?
Thomas Ditson employs 32 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.9:1.
What is the student diversity at Thomas Ditson?
Student demographics at Thomas Ditson are roughly 65% White, 11% Hispanic, 5% Black, 15% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees Thomas Ditson?
Thomas Ditson is overseen by Billerica in Middlesex County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.