Mason-Rice vs Memorial Spaulding

Mason-Rice and Memorial Spaulding sit 2.4 miles apart in Newton Centre, Massachusetts, and both rank among the top elementary schools in the state — Mason-Rice at #49 of 1791 and Memorial Spaulding at #62 of 1791. Their overall ratings are nearly identical, separated by just 0.1 points (Mason-Rice 9.2/10, Memorial Spaulding 9.1/10), which means the meaningful differences live in the component scores rather than the headline number.

Academically, Mason-Rice holds a notable edge: its academic score of 9.8/10 is 1.1 points higher than Memorial Spaulding's 8.7/10, suggesting stronger current proficiency levels on state assessments. Memorial Spaulding flips the script on growth — its growth score of 9.1/10 outpaces Mason-Rice's 8.6/10 by half a point, meaning students at Memorial Spaulding are gaining ground at a faster rate relative to comparable peers, regardless of where they start.

Enrollment and staffing differ modestly. Mason-Rice serves 334 students versus Memorial Spaulding's 369, making Mason-Rice the smaller school by 35 students. Memorial Spaulding's student-teacher ratio of 10.5:1 is tighter than Mason-Rice's 11.9:1, translating to roughly one additional adult per fourteen students — a difference that can matter for families who prioritize individualized attention or whose children benefit from closer teacher contact. Both schools run KG–05, so grade structure is identical and neither offers a longer or shorter elementary pathway.

Both schools cover the same grade band (KG–05) with no distinction in advertised program levels based on available data. The practical decision narrows to a single trade-off: Mason-Rice delivers higher measured academic achievement today, while Memorial Spaulding shows faster student growth and a lower student-teacher ratio. Families comparing the two are essentially weighing current performance ceiling against trajectory and classroom density.