Lawrence vs Florida Ruffin Ridley School

Lawrence School and Florida Ruffin Ridley School sit 0.6 miles apart in Brookline, Massachusetts, but their overall ratings tell a clear story: Lawrence scores 9.3 out of 10 versus Florida Ruffin Ridley School's 8.9, a 0.4-point gap that is amplified by their state rankings. Lawrence stands at #25 of 1791 Massachusetts schools, while Florida Ruffin Ridley School ranks #89 of 1791 — both comfortably in the top 5 percent statewide, but Lawrence holds a meaningful positional edge.

The academic and growth numbers reinforce that gap. Lawrence's academic score is 9.3 compared to Florida Ruffin Ridley School's 8.8, a half-point difference that signals measurably stronger tested proficiency. On growth — how much students improve relative to peers with similar starting points — Lawrence scores 9.4 against Florida Ruffin Ridley School's 8.8, a 0.6-point delta. That growth advantage is notable: it suggests Lawrence accelerates students beyond what their incoming levels would predict, not just that it serves higher-performing families.

Florida Ruffin Ridley School enrolls 852 students versus Lawrence's 615, making Ridley roughly 38 percent larger. Student-teacher ratios are nearly identical at 12.9:1 and 13.1:1 respectively, so neither school offers a structural class-size advantage. The larger enrollment at Florida Ruffin Ridley School may translate into more diverse extracurricular offerings and a broader peer community, though neither metric is available in this dataset.

The one concrete structural difference at the grade level: Florida Ruffin Ridley School serves prekindergarten through grade 8, while Lawrence begins at kindergarten. Families with preschool-age children who want continuity through a single school building will find that option only at Florida Ruffin Ridley School. Both schools run through grade 8, keeping students in the same building through middle school and avoiding a transition before high school.