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GreatSchools Rating

Newtown High School

Public | 9-12 | 1731 students

Last modified
Community Rating

4 stars

Community Rating by Year
2013:
No new ratings
2012:
No new ratings
2011:
Based on 1 rating
2010:
No new ratings

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9 reviews of this school


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Posted May 16, 2011

Both of my kids went to Newtown High. From a extra curricular activity point of view, there is a tremendous amount going on, and all your teen needs to do is join. From an academic point of view, the teachers are excellent, and if your child wants, they can get a lot out of it. It really depends on the child, and you as the parent. The school really does have it all.
—Submitted by a parent


Posted May 1, 2009

Newtown High has so much to offer. Having transferred my daughter from another high school to Newtown, I can honestly say NHS is a cut above the rest.
—Submitted by a parent


Posted April 26, 2009

An Excellent School! I am very impressed with Newtown High School. I think that the most important factor of a good school is the staff. Having 1 child now in college and 1 about to graduate from NHS, I can say that the teachers are incredible and have prepared my children well. The teachers are motivating, encoraging, promote creativity, individuality, responsibility, and maturity. They respect their students and the students respect them in return. My children are polar opposites in personality (one quiet/the other outgoing; one into music/the other into sports; one a perfectionist/the other a great multi-tasker), yet they worked hard, are proud of their achievements, and enjoyed school. The class sizes are not large. The school and school board policies and procedures are reasonable and are adhered to. Although the staff turnover for Principal has been high in recent years, it has not negatively impacted the
—Submitted by a parent


Posted June 12, 2008

I love NHS.Teachers and all the staff and students are great.And the Custodial staff are very nice as well.
—Submitted by a student


Posted December 25, 2007

I loved Newtown High School, I never had one bad teacher. Every teacher made time to help their students if they we're struggling and knew their students as individuals. The athletic programs were phenomenal, I participated in cross-country, track, and lacrosse, and loved all my coaches. This was an amazing High School and they really help prepare you for college and a good successful future.
—Submitted by a student


Posted April 20, 2006

Newtown High was a terrific school. The teachers I had were phenomenal. Many of the teachers I had were the same teachers my dad had, and though they remembered my dad, they realized that my dad and I were different students and treated me fairly. It was a safe school when I was there. There were kids who did drugs, but everyone knew who they were and avoided them. I met some amazing people there who were awesome and I have a lot of good memories from there. I did not participate in sports because all of the sports teams are super competitive and I wanted to play for fun. My overall experience there was terrific.
—Submitted by a former student


Posted January 10, 2006

Overall the school is good. However it is growing at a tremendous pace from 1600 - 2500 students in the coming 5 - 10 years, and questions about capacity crop up. My only concern is with better students and whether there are opportunities for them to get into accelerated programs. This is very limiting, and one of the reasons I pulled my child from the school as the courses that they are in there is little opportunity for students to break or accelerate into more advanced studies. Eg. maths. Space will become a problem and so wouldn't it be nice to utilize part or all of Fairfield Hills next door and convert that as part of the school campus. This will require a considerable capital investment. The school will need a considerable overhaul due to increasing student numbers.
—Submitted by Gerhard Kutt, a parent


Posted February 14, 2005

The teachers at Newtown high are some of the best. They are always avalible to students for extra help, and they make time to go to the students who are not reaching their potential. Classes are full, but that is to be expected at most schools. There is little or no occurance of violence and pot usage and sale is confined to seclect students whom one can spot and therefor not asscoiate with. There has been talk of a herione problem but most students did not relize that these rumors were being spread. This town is a wonderful community and is full of helping caring people. Any Child would be lucky to go to this school, the teachers are helpful, students are friendly, and the building is clean. Although this school may not be perfect i am still glad that i was able to spend my high school years here.
—Submitted by a student


Posted January 3, 2005

The programs are very good. There are a lot of kids in each class room though. The sports teams are great. They really helped me feel welcome into the school as a freshman. I joined swimming which started before school started. As I came in as a freshman I knew many senoirs. What I was surprised about was that when our principal left in the year we did not have a ceremony to say goodbye to him. Also nobody knows who the new principal is. I think that we chould know who they are. the level of parent involvment is at a good level. They arent taking jobs that students should be doing around the school but they are there to help when help os needed.The cafateria needs to be bigger, the food better and cheaper and the lines shortened. Bring back the food that the high school used to have.
—Submitted by a student


Community ratings and reviews do not represent the views of GreatSchools nor does GreatSchools check their accuracy or verify the reviewers' identities. Use your discretion when evaluating these reviews.

About these ratings

The Community Rating is the school’s average rating from its community members (e.g., parents, students, and school staff). The highest possible rating is five stars; the lowest is one star.

The test results by subgroup show how the designated group of students is performing in comparison to the general population.

Grade level

Math

The state average for Math was 78% in 2009.

418 students were tested at this school in 2009.

2009

 
 
94%

2008

 
 
95%

2007

 
 
94%
Reading

The state average for Reading was 82% in 2009.

410 students were tested at this school in 2009.

2009

 
 
96%

2008

 
 
91%

2007

 
 
91%
Science

The state average for Science was 78% in 2009.

432 students were tested at this school in 2009.

2009

 
 
91%

2008

 
 
94%

2007

 
 
96%
Writing

The state average for Writing was 87% in 2009.

429 students were tested at this school in 2009.

2009

 
 
94%

2008

 
 
94%

2007

 
 
87%
Scale: % level 3, 4, or 5

About the tests


In 2008-2009 Connecticut used the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) to test students' skills in reading, writing, science and math in grade 10. The CAPT is a standards-based test, which means it measures how well students are mastering specific skills defined for each grade by the state of Connecticut.

See Connecticut's state standards

Source: Connecticut Department of Education

Math

All Students94%
Female93%
Male96%
Blackn/a
Asian Americann/a
Hispanicn/a
White95%
Economically disadvantagedn/a
Not economically disadvantaged95%
Students with disabilities48%
Students without disabilities97%
English language learnersn/a
Proficient in English94%

Reading

All Students96%
Female98%
Male93%
Blackn/a
Asian Americann/a
Hispanicn/a
White96%
Economically disadvantagedn/a
Not economically disadvantaged96%
Students with disabilitiesn/a
Students without disabilities97%
English language learnersn/a
Proficient in English96%

Science

All Students91%
Female90%
Male92%
Blackn/a
Asian Americann/a
Hispanicn/a
White92%
Economically disadvantaged45%
Not economically disadvantaged93%
Students with disabilities38%
Students without disabilities96%
English language learnersn/a
Proficient in English91%

Writing

All Students94%
Female95%
Male93%
Blackn/a
Asian Americann/a
Hispanicn/a
White95%
Economically disadvantaged60%
Not economically disadvantaged96%
Students with disabilities54%
Students without disabilities98%
English language learnersn/a
Proficient in English94%
Scale: % level 3, 4, or 5

About the tests


In 2008-2009 Connecticut used the Connecticut Academic Performance Test (CAPT) to test students' skills in reading, writing, science and math in grade 10. The CAPT is a standards-based test, which means it measures how well students are mastering specific skills defined for each grade by the state of Connecticut.

The different student groups are identified by the Connecticut Department of Education. If there are fewer than 10 students in a particular group, the state doesn't report data for that group.

See Connecticut's state standards

Source: Connecticut Department of Education

Breaking down the GreatSchools Rating

GreatSchools Ratings are based on the most recent standardized test results for schools. Use the breakdown ratings below to compare types of students at this school. Learn more »


Student ethnicity

Ethnicity This school State average
White 92% 64%
Asian/Pacific Islander 3% 4%
Hispanic 3% 17%
Black 1% 14%
American Indian/Alaska Native 0% 0%
Source: NCES, 2008-2009

Student subgroups

  This school District averageState average
Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch program 3%N/A30%
Source: NCES, 2008-2009

Student-teacher ratio

  This school District averageState average
Students per FTE teacher 15N/A12
Source: NCES, 2008-2009
Notice an inaccuracy? Let us know!

12 Berkshire Rd
Sandy Hook, CT 06482
Phone: (203) 426-7646

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