PORTSMOUTH — The town’s four public schools all received a rating of four stars out of a possible five under the Rhode Island Department of Education’s (RIDE) latest school accountability report released last Friday.

RIDE’s new star rating system, which debuted last year, is based on test scores, attendance, English language proficiency, student success, suspension rates, college and career readiness and more.

The report noted improvements at Melville Elementary School and Portsmouth Middle School, both of which received three-star ratings for the 2022-21 academic year. For 2022-23, each school received four stars. Howard Hathaway School and Portsmouth High School also received four stars, as they did last year.

“Only 50 schools throughout R.I. (16 percent) received a 4-star rating or higher in RIDE’s recently released 2023 accountability data,” the Portsmouth School Department stated in a Facebook post. “Four of those schools make up the (Portsmouth school district). Congratulations to the students, staff, and families of Hathaway, Melville, PMS, and PHS!”

Twenty-three schools in Rhode Island received five-star ratings, including five in both the Barrington and East Greenwich districts.

All five schools in Tiverton received three-star ratings, while Middletown’s schools got either two or three stars. Newport’s middle school received the dreaded one-star rating, while its elementary and high schools each got two stars. 

Wilbur and McMahon Schools in Little Compton received the coveted five-star review. Bristol-Warren had one five-star school (Rockwell), while the others received either two or three.