Graham and Parks vs Haggerty

Graham and Parks and Haggerty are separated by just 0.1 points in overall rating — 9.4 versus 9.3 out of 10 — yet both rank in the top ten and top twenty statewide, respectively. Graham and Parks holds the #10 position out of 1,791 Massachusetts schools, while Haggerty sits at #16 out of 1,791, placing both schools in the top 1% in the state. For a parent in Cambridge choosing between them, the difference is less about quality and more about fit.

On academic performance, Graham and Parks scores 8.6 out of 10 against Haggerty's 8.3, a 0.3-point margin. Growth scores are nearly identical: Graham and Parks earns 9.8 out of 10, Haggerty 9.7 — meaning both schools are accelerating student learning at an exceptional and nearly indistinguishable pace. Neither school shows a meaningful gap in how much students progress year over year.

The clearest structural difference between the two schools is size and staffing density. Graham and Parks enrolls 396 students compared to Haggerty's 229 — nearly 73% more children on campus. That scale difference is reflected in the student-teacher ratios: Graham and Parks runs at 11.3 students per teacher, while Haggerty operates at just 7.9 students per teacher. A family that prioritizes more individualized attention and a tighter classroom environment will find that at Haggerty; a family comfortable with a larger, more socially dynamic elementary setting will find that at Graham and Parks.

Both schools serve the same grade band, prekindergarten through fifth grade, and sit 1.5 miles apart within Cambridge. There are no program-level distinctions available in the data to separate them further on curriculum or specialized offerings. The decision essentially comes down to campus scale and the staffing ratio that flows from it — Haggerty's 7.9:1 ratio represents meaningfully more adult contact per child than Graham and Parks's 11.3:1, even as both schools produce top-tier academic and growth outcomes.