Walter S Parker Middle

Summary:

Walter S Parker Middle is a public middle school located in Reading, MA, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 464 students. The school is part of the highly-ranked Reading School District, which is ranked 42 out of 351 districts in Massachusetts and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Walter S Parker Middle consistently performs well on MCAS Next Generation assessments, with a higher percentage of students proficient or better in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science compared to the state averages. The school has maintained a strong statewide ranking, placing in the top 25% of Massachusetts middle schools for most years, and earning a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger. Walter S Parker Middle also performs well across various student subgroups, including female students, male students, White students, and students with disabilities.

When compared to nearby middle schools, Walter S Parker Middle generally outperforms its peers in terms of academic achievement and statewide rankings. This suggests that the school may have effective teaching practices, curriculum, or other factors that contribute to its strong performance. The school's consistent placement in the top quartile of Massachusetts middle schools over multiple years is a testament to its sustained excellence and commitment to providing a high-quality education to its students.


Detail:

Public 6-8

 45 Temple Street
       Reading, MA  01867


(781) 944-1236

District: Reading

SchoolDigger Rank:
63rd of 493 Massachusetts Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $16,447 Help


Students who attend Walter S Parker Middle usually attend:

High:    Reading Memorial High

Feeder schools for Walter S Parker Middle:

Elementary:    Alice M Barrows
    Joshua Eaton

Student/teacher ratio:  10.4 Help
Number of students:  464

Racial breakdown:

White:
81.9%
African American:
5.0%
Two or more races:
4.7%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  12% Help


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Performance Trends
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Compare Details Walter S Parker Middle ranks better than 87.2% of middle schools in Massachusetts. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 87.79. (See more...)
Student Body
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Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (81.9%), African American (5%), two or more races (4.7%). (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Walter S Parker Middle is 10.4. (See more...)
Help
Compare Walter S Parker Middle employs 44.2 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Walter S Parker Middle is $16,447.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Walter S Parker Middle:

SchoolDigger ranks Walter S Parker Middle 63rd of 493 Massachusetts public middle schools. (See Walter S Parker Middle in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Multi-racial students:
Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
White students:


Reading:

SchoolDigger ranks Reading 42nd of 351 Massachusetts school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Walter S Parker Middle

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Rank History for all students at Walter S Parker Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2003 90.85 24th 339 92.9%
2004 86.74 43rd 344 87.5%
2005 83.23 62nd 356 82.6%
2006 88.71 33rd 399 91.7%
2007 89.09 24th 399 94.0%
2008 85.46 48th 407 88.2%
2009 88.05 34th 409 91.7%
2010 84.30 57th 434 86.9%
2011 83.91 60th 449 86.6%
2012 82.68 70th 455 84.6%
2013 76.25 106th 455 76.7%
2014 78.77 93rd 455 79.6%
2015 85.58 46th 441 89.6%
2016 84.61 47th 482 90.2%
2017 80.18 84th 487 82.8%
2018 81.74 76th 484 84.3%
2019 75.94 123rd 498 75.3%
2021 77.50 98th 501 80.4%
2022 81.68 79th 497 84.1%
2023 70.52 134th 501 73.3%
2024 87.79 63rd 493 87.2%
See the entire list of Massachusetts Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Walter S Parker Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 73.07 28th 98 71.4%
See the entire list of Best Massachusetts Middle Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Walter S Parker Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 56.02 170th 467 63.6%
2019 49.31 223rd 484 53.9%
2021 50.66 202nd 489 58.7%
2022 46.42 241st 503 52.1%
2023 59.77 116th 444 73.9%
2024 79.40 49th 441 88.9%
See the entire list of Best Massachusetts Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Walter S Parker Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 72.21 87th 438 80.1%
2019 53.05 196th 452 56.6%
2021 47.24 216th 462 53.2%
2022 54.94 181st 489 63.0%
2023 37.77 297th 481 38.3%
2024 75.97 63rd 469 86.6%
See the entire list of Best Massachusetts Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Walter S Parker Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 81.32 76th 463 83.6%
2019 71.18 135th 478 71.8%
2021 69.15 134th 483 72.3%
2022 77.52 94th 494 81.0%
2023 65.56 146th 489 70.1%
2024 85.79 64th 481 86.7%
See the entire list of Best Massachusetts Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Walter S Parker Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 57.78 125th 417 70.0%
2019 66.99 98th 424 76.9%
2021 69.49 75th 431 82.6%
2022 65.95 88th 445 80.2%
See the entire list of Best Massachusetts Middle Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Walter S Parker Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 79.52 90th 466 80.7%
2019 78.08 102nd 478 78.7%
2021 81.98 75th 485 84.5%
2022 82.37 75th 497 84.9%
2023 72.75 120th 489 75.5%
2024 87.67 55th 483 88.6%
See the entire list of Best Massachusetts Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Tested In Person students at Walter S Parker Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 77.20 97th 491 80.2%
See the entire list of Best Massachusetts Middle Schools for Tested In Person Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Walter S Parker Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 58.94 60th 119 49.6%
2019 57.15 68th 128 46.9%
2022 56.99 66th 135 51.1%
See the entire list of Best Massachusetts Middle Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for White students at Walter S Parker Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools MA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 74.04 78th 395 80.3%
2019 66.30 118th 396 70.2%
2021 67.66 103rd 401 74.3%
2022 73.17 87th 404 78.5%
2023 60.34 142nd 403 64.8%
2024 81.12 63rd 392 83.9%
See the entire list of Best Massachusetts Middle Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Walter S Parker Middle Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 






Data source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

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Enrollment information for Walter S Parker Middle

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 368 5 4 0 0 n/a n/a 0 377
1989 372 8 1 1 0 n/a n/a 0 382
1990 369 17 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 386
1991 400 16 2 0 0 n/a n/a 0 418
1992 394 25 2 0 0 n/a n/a 0 421
1993 369 19 4 2 0 n/a n/a 0 394
1994 390 20 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 410
1995 411 12 5 2 0 n/a n/a 0 430
1996 411 12 5 2 0 n/a n/a 0 430
1997 444 13 9 4 0 n/a n/a 0 470
1998 498 18 7 4 0 n/a n/a 0 527
1999 558 20 8 2 0 n/a n/a 0 588
2000 558 19 5 2 0 n/a n/a 0 584
2001 532 13 6 8 0 n/a n/a 0 559
2002 502 10 11 6 2 n/a n/a 0 531
2003 502 10 11 6 2 n/a n/a 0 531
2004 499 15 9 9 2 n/a n/a 0 534
2005 491 18 12 8 3 n/a n/a 0 532
2006 480 8 16 15 2 n/a n/a 6 527
2007 519 11 19 12 2 n/a n/a 3 566
2008 549 6 23 9 2 n/a n/a 8 597
2009 543 4 23 6 1 1 8 0 586
2010 513 5 26 9 1 1 7 0 562
2011 537 9 28 10 1 0 8 0 593
2012 531 10 27 7 1 0 8 0 584
2013 544 9 24 7 1 0 8 0 593
2014 516 9 27 6 0 0 6 0 564
2015 537 11 25 13 2 0 5 0 593
2016 496 11 28 9 2 0 4 0 550
2017 512 13 26 13 2 0 6 0 572
2018 482 17 37 15 1 0 11 0 563
2019 463 17 34 21 1 0 11 0 547
2020 410 20 35 23 1 0 11 0 500
2021 420 16 23 21 0 0 14 1 495
2022 406 16 20 19 0 0 22 2 485
2023 380 23 17 19 3 0 22 0 464

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Walter S Parker Middle

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 377 n/a n/a n/a
1989 382 n/a n/a n/a
1990 386 n/a n/a n/a
1991 418 n/a n/a n/a
1992 421 n/a n/a n/a
1993 394 n/a 0.0 n/a
1994 410 n/a n/a n/a
1995 430 n/a 0.0 n/a
1996 430 n/a 0.0 n/a
1997 470 n/a 0.0 n/a
1998 527 n/a 0.0 n/a
1999 588 n/a 0.0 0
2000 584 n/a 0.0 3.3
2001 559 n/a 0.0 2.7
2002 531 n/a n/a 4.9
2003 531 n/a n/a 4.9
2004 534 41.8 12.8 5.6
2005 532 41.9 12.7 4.3
2006 527 43.0 12.3 4.8
2007 566 46.0 12.3 5.7
2008 597 42.5 14.0 3.9
2009 586 47.0 12.5 3.4
2010 562 47.5 11.8 5.9
2011 593 47.1 12.5 6.1
2012 584 46.8 12.4 6
2013 593 47.0 12.5 6.4
2014 564 47.4 11.8 7.4
2015 593 47.0 12.6 12
2016 550 46.0 11.9 n/a
2017 572 46.7 12.2 n/a
2018 563 46.3 12.1 n/a
2019 547 46.4 11.7 n/a
2020 500 47.6 10.5 n/a
2021 495 47.7 10.3 n/a
2022 485 47.6 10.1 n/a
2023 464 44.2 10.4 n/a

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Walter S Parker Middle

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 377 n/a n/a n/a
1989 382 n/a n/a n/a
1990 386 n/a n/a n/a
1991 418 n/a n/a n/a
1992 421 n/a n/a n/a
1993 394 n/a 0.0 n/a
1994 410 n/a n/a n/a
1995 430 n/a 0.0 n/a
1996 430 n/a 0.0 n/a
1997 470 n/a 0.0 n/a
1998 527 n/a 0.0 n/a
1999 588 n/a 0.0 0
2000 584 n/a 0.0 3.3
2001 559 n/a 0.0 2.7
2002 531 n/a n/a 4.9
2003 531 n/a n/a 4.9
2004 534 41.8 12.8 5.6
2005 532 41.9 12.7 4.3
2006 527 43.0 12.3 4.8
2007 566 46.0 12.3 5.7
2008 597 42.5 14.0 3.9
2009 586 47.0 12.5 3.4
2010 562 47.5 11.8 5.9
2011 593 47.1 12.5 6.1
2012 584 46.8 12.4 6
2013 593 47.0 12.5 6.4
2014 564 47.4 11.8 7.4
2015 593 47.0 12.6 12
2016 550 46.0 11.9 n/a
2017 572 46.7 12.2 n/a
2018 563 46.3 12.1 n/a
2019 547 46.4 11.7 n/a
2020 500 47.6 10.5 n/a
2021 495 47.7 10.3 n/a
2022 485 47.6 10.1 n/a
2023 464 44.2 10.4 n/a

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Walter S Parker Middle

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $231 (1.6%) $13,950 (98.4%) $14,181
2020 $226 (1.5%) $15,025 (98.5%) $15,251
2021 $590 (3.6%) $15,857 (96.4%) $16,447

Data source: Massachusetts Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Walter S Parker Middle

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 123rd of 498 Middle schoolsRanks 134th of 501 Middle schools
 2%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
6th Grade English Language Arts (Walter S Parker Middle)7760.7
 16.3%
   6th Grade English Language Arts (Reading)7670.6
 5.4%
   6th Grade English Language Arts (Massachusetts)5442.3
 11.7%
6th Grade Mathematics (Walter S Parker Middle)6257.4
 4.6%
   6th Grade Mathematics (Reading)6659.3
 6.7%
   6th Grade Mathematics (Massachusetts)5141
 10%
7th Grade English Language Arts (Walter S Parker Middle)5653.1
 2.9%
   7th Grade English Language Arts (Reading)6654.6
 11.4%
   7th Grade English Language Arts (Massachusetts)4840.5
 7.5%
7th Grade Mathematics (Walter S Parker Middle)5944.4
 14.6%
   7th Grade Mathematics (Reading)6350.8
 12.2%
   7th Grade Mathematics (Massachusetts)4838.1
 9.9%
8th Grade English Language Arts (Walter S Parker Middle)6247.7
 14.4%
   8th Grade English Language Arts (Reading)6858.1
 9.9%
   8th Grade English Language Arts (Massachusetts)5143.7
 7.3%
8th Grade Mathematics (Walter S Parker Middle)5932.2
 26.8%
   8th Grade Mathematics (Reading)6643.5
 22.5%
   8th Grade Mathematics (Massachusetts)4737.7
 9.3%
8th Grade Science (Walter S Parker Middle)6056.1
 3.9%
   8th Grade Science (Reading)6562.4
 2.6%
   8th Grade Science (Massachusetts)4640.9
 5.1%
All Grades English Language Arts (Walter S Parker Middle)6453.1
 10.9%
   All Grades English Language Arts (Reading)6860.6
 7.4%
   All Grades English Language Arts (Massachusetts)5242.3
 9.7%
All Grades Mathematics (Walter S Parker Middle)6043.3
 16.7%
   All Grades Mathematics (Reading)6455
 9%
   All Grades Mathematics (Massachusetts)4940.6
 8.4%
All Grades Science (Walter S Parker Middle)6056.1
 3.9%
   All Grades Science (Reading)6762.9
 4.1%
   All Grades Science (Massachusetts)4741.2
 5.8%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students547464
 15.2%
African American1723
 35.3%
American Indian13
 200%
Asian3417
 50%
Hispanic2119
 9.5%
Pacific Islander00
White463380
 17.9%
Two or More Races1122
 100%


Schools Near Walter S Parker Middle









Frequently Asked Questions about Walter S Parker Middle

Walter S Parker Middle ranks 63rd of 493 Massachusetts middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Students at Walter S Parker Middle are 82% White, 5% African American, 5% Two or more races, 4% Hispanic, 4% Asian.

In the 2022-23 school year, 464 students attended Walter S Parker Middle.

Students who attend Walter S Parker Middle usually go on to attend Reading Memorial High


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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