How West Hartford Public Schools Compares to Surrounding School Districts

Performance Index

This is the state's summary score for how students perform on annual tests, on a 0-to-100 scale. Connecticut's stated target is 75 in every subject.

In 2025-26 West Hartford scored 74.5 in reading, 71.5 in math, and 72.7 in science — the lowest of the six districts in all three. Five of the six now exceed the state's target of 75 in every subject, up from three the year before; West Hartford is the only one that does not, and it falls short in all three.

Its scores have risen steadily and rose again in the most recent year: reading from 72.4 to 74.5 and math from 69.4 to 71.5 since 2022-23. Science recovered from a dip, moving from 71.4 to 72.7 across the period.

Context: this measure reflects how students score, which is influenced by the population a district enrolls as well as by the teaching. The Academic Growth measure below is designed to separate those two things.

Academic Growth

Rather than asking how high students scored, this asks how much they improved over the year against an individual target set for each student. A score of 100 means students met their growth targets in full. It matters because it is far less affected by which families live in a district.

The picture here differs from the achievement scores, and the two subjects diverge.

In reading, West Hartford scored 66.1 in 2025-26, second of the six behind Avon's 74.7 and well above the state's 59.3. It climbed from 60.4 three years ago and has now held steady for two years.

In math, West Hartford scored 68.1 — last of the six, behind Avon at 80.9. But the direction has changed. Math growth had fallen three years running, from 68.7 to 65.9; in 2025-26 it rose 2.2 points, roughly back to its 2022-23 level. Statewide math growth fell over the same year, from 62.3 to 60.9, so West Hartford gained ground against the state while remaining last in this group.

This is the clearest instance where growth tells a different story than achievement: West Hartford students gain reading ground faster than most of their neighbors, and math ground more slowly.

Next Generation Accountability System

Connecticut's broadest single measure of a district. It folds twelve separate indicators into one number — test scores, academic growth, attendance, graduation, college and career readiness, physical fitness, and arts participation among them — and reports the result as the percentage of possible points a district earned. Several of those indicators appear as their own charts on this page; this is the composite.

West Hartford scored 79.3 in 2024-25, the lowest of the six and the only one below 80. Farmington led at 85.3, followed by Glastonbury and South Windsor at 82.3, Simsbury at 81.4, and Avon at 81.0. All six sit comfortably above the statewide 71.8.

The movement is the notable part. West Hartford gained 5.1 points in two years, rising from 74.2 to 79.3. No other district in the group gained more than 2.0, and the state as a whole gained 2.5. The distance between West Hartford and top-ranked Farmington narrowed from 10.3 points to 6.0 over the same period — West Hartford closing roughly two-fifths of the gap.

Context: the system dates from 2015-16 and was suspended for two years during the pandemic, with no results published for 2019-20 or 2020-21. Reporting resumed in 2021-22, so the three years shown here are the full run of post-pandemic data. A district's score reflects the students it enrolls as well as how it teaches them, which is worth reading alongside the demographics chart.

Total Spend Per Pupil

Total spending divided by enrollment, covering local, state, and federal money. It excludes debt, most construction, and the state's contribution to teacher pensions.

West Hartford spent $22,971 per student in 2024-25, the highest of the six and $250 above the statewide average of $22,721. South Windsor spent least at $18,815 — some $4,150 less per student.

West Hartford's spending rose fastest in the group, up $2,267 or 10.9 percent over three years, against a statewide increase of 7.5 percent. Farmington's rose least, at 4.3 percent.

Chronic Absenteeism

The share of students who miss at least 10 percent of the days they are enrolled, for any reason, excused or not. Roughly 18 missed days in a typical year. Lower is better.

West Hartford was at 10.0 percent in 2025-26, second highest of the six and a fraction below Avon's 10.1. Glastonbury was lowest at 6.5.

The longer trend is favorable but the most recent year is not. West Hartford fell from 14.8 percent to 9.9 over three years — the largest reduction in the group — then ticked back up to 10.0. Among high-needs students the reversal is clearer, rising from 17.7 to 19.5 percent. Four of the six districts improved in 2025-26, and the state improved from 17.2 to 16.4 percent, so West Hartford lost relative ground. South Windsor was the only other district to move backwards.

For high-needs students the figures are higher everywhere. West Hartford's rate for that group was 19.5%, the highest of the six, against a state figure of 23.8%.

Context: chronic absenteeism roughly doubled statewide during the pandemic and has been falling since. All six districts remain far below the state's 16.4%.

College and Career Readiness

Two related figures for high school students. The first is the share of eleventh and twelfth graders taking at least one Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, dual-enrollment, or workplace-experience course. The second is the share meeting the state's readiness benchmark on the associated exams.

West Hartford enrolled 92.9% of upperclassmen in at least one such course in 2024-25, essentially at the state average of 92.4 and fifth of the six. Avon led at 97.2; Glastonbury was the outlier at 85.

On the exams, West Hartford's 68.9% placed fifth, behind Farmington's 75.0. Every district in this group far exceeded the state's 47.2%.

Access is close to universal in five of these six districts, so the exam figure carries most of the useful signal. West Hartford's has risen from 65.8 to 68.9 over three years.

Graduation and Postsecondary Outcomes

Graduation is the share of first-time ninth graders earning a standard diploma within four years. Postsecondary entrance is the share of graduates enrolling at a two- or four-year college within a year of leaving.

West Hartford graduated 93.7% of its 2024-25 cohort, lowest of the six but above the state's 91.2%. Farmington led at 97.5%. West Hartford's rate has edged up from 92.2% the previous year.

In 2023-24, the most recent year available, West Hartford sent 81.0% of graduates on to a two- or four-year institution, fifth of the six — Simsbury was lower at 78.4 — against a state figure of 67.0%. Avon led at 88.4%.

All six districts cluster near the top on graduation, so differences there are small. College enrollment separates them more.

Achievement Gap

The distance between a district's overall Performance Index and the index for its high-needs students, it represents how far behind the district average those students sit. Lower is better. High needs covers students from low-income families, multilingual learners, and students with disabilities.

West Hartford's high-needs students score 14.3 index points below the district average in reading and 14.1 below in math. Avon has the widest gaps of the six — 15.0 in reading and 16.3 in math — with South Windsor narrowest at 12.1 and 12.7.

For scale, the statewide gap is 9.8 in reading and 10.5 in math. West Hartford's gap is wider than the state on both, as are all of the other districts here.

The gap is closing slowly: down 0.3 points in reading and 1.2 in math since 2022-23.

West Hartford's gaps are wider than the state's on both measures, though not the widest in this group, and it is worth reading alongside district size - West Hartford serves substantially more students than any other district here.

Where the Money Goes

The same spending, shown as proportions rather than dollars. Every bar totals 100 percent, so this chart is about priorities, not amounts.

West Hartford directs 63.5 percent of spending to instruction, second highest of the six behind Avon's 64.7 and above the state's 60.5 percent. It spends 10.9 percent on administration, below the state's 11.5, and 7.5 percent on operating and maintaining buildings — the lowest share in the group, against a state figure of 9.3 percent.

The widest variation among these districts is in instructional support — coaching, curriculum, and professional development — which ranges from 1.5 percent in Avon to 7.3 percent in Simsbury. West Hartford sits at 3.4 percent. Administration ranges from 8.6 percent in Glastonbury to 13.0 percent in South Windsor.

Who the Districts Serve

Connecticut counts a student as high needs if they qualify for free or reduced-price meals, are multilingual learners, or have an Individualized Education Program. Districts are measured on how well they serve this group, and the state's achievement gap calculation rests on it.

West Hartford has the highest share of the six. High-needs students make up 40.5% of those enrolled there, against 33.6% in South Windsor, 31.6% in Farmington, 30.7% in Simsbury, 26.8% in Glastonbury, and 24.8% in Avon. Behind that figure, 28.5% of West Hartford students qualify for free or reduced-price meals — more than double Avon's 13.4% — and 18.6% have an IEP, the highest here. Only on multilingual learners does another district rank higher, South Windsor at 9.4% to West Hartford's 8.6%. All six fall well below Connecticut's own 44.8% meal-eligibility rate. The three groups overlap, so they cannot be added together.

This chart measures who a district serves, not how well it teaches. It is context for the others — particularly the Performance Index and the Achievement Gap, where a district enrolling 41% high-needs students and one enrolling 24% are not being compared on equal footing.