Enrollment
172
Elementary
STATE 249
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·THORNTON SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 330666000433
Thornton Central School
1886 NH Rte. 175, Thornton, NH 03285 · (603) 726-8904 · Grafton County
GRADES KG–08ELEMENTARY42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL172 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 82% of New Hampshire public elementary schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded New Hampshire public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
7.2:1
24 FTE teachers
STATE 11.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
23%
39 students
STATE 26%
Community
0
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 | 9 | 5% |
| Grade 1 | 14 | 8% |
| Grade 2 | 24 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 17 | 10% |
| Grade 4 | 20 | 12% |
| Grade 5 | 15 | 9% |
| Grade 6 | 27 | 16% |
| Grade 7 | 27 | 16% |
| Grade 8 | 19 | 11% |
Student demographics
16%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
STATE 33% · 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
NHSAS 2024-25 . % Above ProficientEnglish Language Arts
62.0%
NH avg 55.2%
Math
57.0%
NH avg 43.0%
What this means: On the NHSAS, New Hampshire's statewide test, about 62 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 57 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all New Hampshire schools, those numbers are about 55 and 43.
Source: NHSAS. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
60.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.9%
based on NH schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+11.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 61% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 49% typical for New Hampshire schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among New Hampshire's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Thornton Central School
Thornton Central School's state test result (60.6% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thornton Central School this school | 172 | 22.7% | 60.6% |
| Carpenter School Wolfeboro | 183 | 22.4% | 51.5% |
| New Durham Elementary School New Durham | 144 | 23.6% | 47.8% |
| Florence Rideout Elementary School Wilton | 211 | 22.3% | 41.3% |
| Kearsarge Reg. Elementary School - Bradford Bradford | 177 | 23.7% | 50.8% |
| Loudon Elementary School Loudon | 243 | 22.2% | 39.0% |
Matched among New Hampshire elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Thornton Central School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In New Hampshire | In Grafton County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 60.6% | #45 of 209 | #8 of 19 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 57.0% | #61 of 209 | #8 of 19 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 62.0% | #59 of 210 | #11 of 19 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 172 | #199 of 300 | #12 of 28 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 22.7% | #124 of 240 | #14 of 19 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -16.1% | #52 of 139 | #4 of 10 |
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
172
-31 (-15%) vs 2020
-12% since 1990-91, when it was 196
Student : Teacher
7.2:1
was 8.5:1
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 | 172 | 24 | 7.2:1 | 23% (39) |
| 2023-24 | 173 | 24 | 7.2:1 | 20% (35) |
| 2022-23 | 185 | 23 | 8.0:1 | 25% (47) |
| 2020-21 | 203 | 24 | 8.5:1 | 35% (71) |
| 2017-18 | 205 | 22.5 | 9.1:1 | 36% (74) |
| 2015-16 | 182 | 22 | 8.3:1 | 47% (86) |
| 2010-11 | 204 | 21 | 9.7:1 | 34% (70) |
| 2000-01 | 206 | 18 | 11.4:1 | 18% (37) |
| 1990-91 | 196 | 14 | 14.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Thornton Central School.
Since 2017-18: students down 16% (205 to 172); teachers up 7% (22.5 to 24).
About Thornton Central School
In Thornton, New Hampshire, Thornton Central School is a small elementary school. Students in kindergarten through 8 attend, and enrollment is 172 students. The school's enrollment is 31% smaller than the 249 average for elementary schools in New Hampshire.
Thornton School District operates Thornton Central School.
White students make up 91% of enrollment at Thornton Central School. The next largest groups are 3% Hispanic and 3% multiracial. The White share in Grafton County as a whole is similar, at about 88%. Pick two students at random and there is a 16% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
The teaching staff at Thornton Central School is 24 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the ratio is 7.2:1. The school has fewer students per teacher than the 11.0:1 average for elementary schools in New Hampshire. About 23% of students, or 39, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. For comparison, public schools in Grafton County average 25%.
The allk12 Grade for Thornton Central School is A-. Compared with New Hampshire public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 82% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for Thornton Central School is +11.7 points: 60.6% actual, 48.9% predicted.
Within Grafton County, the median household income is $88,261, about 47% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 7%. In all, Grafton County has 53 public schools and roughly 10,161 students.
Nearest public school: Campton Elementary School, about 3.4 miles away. A ten-mile radius around the school includes 5 other public schools. Local comparison: Thornton Central School ranks 1st of 8 nearby schools, at 60.6% versus a 51.0% average.
Thornton Central School is coded as Rural: Distant in federal locale data.
Federal data show a 15% enrollment decrease, from 203 in 2020-21 to 172 in 2024-25. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio fell to 7.2:1, from 8.5:1.
Posts about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs are welcome on this page. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Grafton County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
92,120
Census ACS
Median income
$88,261
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
47%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
53
10,161 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Nearby schools
- Campton Elementary School3.4 mi · 265
- Waterville Valley Elementary School8.8 mi · 33
- Plymouth Elementary School9.2 mi · 365
- Plymouth Regional High School9.3 mi · 651
- Russell Elementary School10.0 mi · 84
- Mountain Village Charter School10.0 mi · 117
Frequently asked questions
About Thornton Central SchoolHow large is Thornton Central School?
Thornton Central School enrolls approximately 172 students in grades KG-08.
Is Thornton Central School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Thornton Central School is an elementary school covering grades KG-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Thornton Central School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Thornton Central School is approximately 7.2:1 (24 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Thornton Central School?
Student demographics at Thornton Central School are roughly 91% White, 3% Hispanic, 1% Black, 3% Two or more.
What district is Thornton Central School in?
Thornton Central School is part of Thornton School District.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.