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Schools›Massachusetts›Reading
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·READING·NCES 250999001612

Walter S Parker Middle

45 Temple Street, Reading, MA 01867 · (781) 944-1236 · Middlesex County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL467 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 91% of Massachusetts public middle schools
  • A-Test 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.
  • AThree-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 middle schools

Enrollment
467
Middle
DISTRICT 436 · STATE 547
Student : Teacher
9.5:1
49 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

GradeStudentsShare
Grade 617337%
Grade 716535%
Grade 812928%
Student demographics
35%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 30% · STATE 65% · US 70%
White
37580%
DISTRICT 83% · STATE 51% · US 43%
Hispanic
255%
DISTRICT 5% · STATE 26% · US 30%
Black
245%
DISTRICT 3% · STATE 10% · US 15%
Asian
286%
DISTRICT 5% · STATE 7% · US 6%
Two+
143%
DISTRICT 3% · STATE 5% · US 5%
Native American
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 1%
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
Male
24753%
Female
22047%

School pathway

Students here typically continue to
Walter S Parker Middle→Reading Memorial High
Based on grade levels within Reading. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.

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Test scores

MCAS 2024-25 . % Meeting or Exceeding Expectations
English Language Arts
65.0%
MA avg 43.8% . +0.0pp since 2016
Math
59.0%
MA avg 42.2% . -4.0pp since 2016

What this means: On the MCAS, Massachusetts's statewide test, about 65 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 59 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Massachusetts schools, those numbers are about 44 and 42. Reading and writing scores have held steady since 2016, while math scores are down about 4 points.

MCAS results by year

School yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2565.0%59.0%
2023-2461.0%64.0%
2022-2353.0%43.0%
2021-2258.0%52.0%
2020-2159.0%42.0%
2018-1965.0%60.0%
2017-1867.0%62.0%
2016-1765.0%63.0%
% Meeting or Exceeding Expectations, all students and all tested grades.
Source: MCAS. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →

Where Walter S Parker Middle ranks

Among middle schools
MeasureThis schoolIn MassachusettsIn Middlesex County
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
59.0%#60 of 304
▼ 15
#30 of 70
▼ 5
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
65.0%#53 of 304
▼ 2
#28 of 70
▲ 1
3-year test score change
ranked biggest gain first
+7.0pp#35 of 299#12 of 69
Enrollment
ranked largest first
467#190 of 310#53 of 72
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
9.5:1#33 of 296#12 of 70
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
34.5%#216 of 296#66 of 70
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-17.1%#55 of 204#7 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 2024-25
Enrollment
467
-28 (-6%) vs 2020
+12% since 1990-91, when it was 418
Student : Teacher
9.5:1
was 10.5:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2546749.39.5:1N/A
2023-2445137.712.0:1N/A
2022-2346444.210.5:1N/A
2020-214954710.5:1N/A
2017-1856346.312.2:1N/A
2015-165504612.0:1N/A
2010-115934712.6:16% (36)
2000-01559N/AN/A3% (15)
1990-91418N/AN/AN/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Walter S Parker Middle.

Since 2017-18: students down 17% (563 to 467); teachers up 6% (46.3 to 49.3).

About Walter S Parker Middle

Walter S Parker Middle is classified as a middle school. It is located in Reading, Massachusetts. It enrolls 467 students in 2024-25. The grades offered are 6 through 8.

Across its 9 schools, Reading enrolls 3,836 students. Walter S Parker Middle is one of those schools.

At Walter S Parker Middle, 80% of students are White. Smaller groups are 6% Asian, 5% Hispanic, 5% Black, and 3% multiracial. For comparison, the population of Middlesex County is roughly 67% White. The diversity index for Walter S Parker Middle is 35%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.

Walter S Parker Middle has 49.3 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff and a student-to-teacher ratio of 9.5:1. The gap from the 11.5:1 average for middle schools in Massachusetts is 2.1 students per teacher.

Among Massachusetts public middle schools, Walter S Parker Middle outscored 91%, which works out to an A on the allk12 Grade.

Census data for Middlesex County show median household income comes to about $130,847, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 60%, and about 5% of people live in poverty. There are 386 public schools in the county, enrolling about 215,896, Walter S Parker Middle among them.

Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, Alice M Barrows, is about 0.4 miles. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8.

Federal records code the school's setting as Suburb: Large.

A 6% decline took enrollment from 495 in 2020-21 to 467 in 2024-25. There were fewer students per teacher in 2024-25 (9.5:1) than in 2020-21 (10.5:1).

Parents, students, and staff can share information on special education services, counseling, and support programs here. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.

Middlesex County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
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

School name
Walter S Parker Middle
District
Reading
Address
45 Temple Street, Reading, MA 01867
Phone
(781) 944-1236
County
Middlesex County
Level
Middle
Grade range
06–08
Total enrollment
467
Teachers (FTE)
49
Student–teacher ratio
9.5:1
Locale
21-Suburb: Large
NCES ID
250999001612
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Reading
Other schools in Reading
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Walter S Parker Middle
How large is Walter S Parker Middle?
Walter S Parker Middle enrolls approximately 467 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Walter S Parker Middle serve?
Walter S Parker Middle serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Walter S Parker Middle?
Approximately 9.5:1 students per teacher at Walter S Parker Middle.
How diverse is Walter S Parker Middle?
Walter S Parker Middle reports a student body of 80% White, 5% Hispanic, 5% Black, 6% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is Walter S Parker Middle public or private?
Walter S Parker Middle is a public K-12 school, overseen by Reading.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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