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Beginning with the founding of Harvard University in 1636, Massachusetts has long upheld a tradition of excellence in education, and its public school systems are no exception. In fact, Massachusetts has some of the best school districts in the United States. Here’s a look at the five best school districts in the Bay State.

Lexington Public Schools is the best school district in Massachusetts. Comprising eleven schools in the town of Lexington, the district outperforms state and national averages in every possible metric, and examples include 87.3% of district students completing at least one advanced course (compared to just 65.1% in the state) while also managing a 100% completion rate of the MassCore program of studies. 

Placing second in Massachusetts is Needham Public Schools, consisting of eight schools in the Boston suburb of Needham. Needham students regularly perform well on assessment tests, earning average scores in the state top 10 in both English and language arts and science and technology in 2018. 

Massachusetts 3rd best public school district is Wellesley Public Schools, comprising seven elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school with a total enrollment of 4,758 in the Norfolk County town of Wellesley. In 2018, WPS’s graduation rate was above 97%, and nearly 93% of graduates went on to attend a 2 or 4-year university.   

Earning the 4th spot is Winchester Public Schools, a high performing district of eight schools in the wealthy suburb of Winchester. Students in the district regularly score well above the state average on the SAT.

Filling out the list of Massachusetts top five school districts is Acton-Boxborough Regional School District, an eight-school district that produced 18 National Merit Scholarship Semi-Finalists in 2017. 

Top School Districts in Massachusetts, 2020

RankSchool DistrictCity
1LexingtonLexington
2NeedhamNeedham
3WellesleyWellesley
4WinchesterWinchester
5Acton-BoxboroughActon
6ShrewsburyShrewsbury
7BelmontBelmont
8WestfordWestford
9WachusettJefferson
10Montachusett Regional Vocational TechnicalFitchburg
11AndoverAndover
12HinghamHingham
13Shawsheen Valley Regional Vocational TechnicalBillerica
14Northboro-SouthboroSouthborough
15HopkintonHopkinton
16Bristol-Plymouth Regional Vocational TechnicalTaunton
17Southeastern Regional Vocational TechnicalSouth Easton
18ArlingtonArlington
19Whittier Regional Vocational TechnicalHaverhill
20Tri-County Regional Vocational TechnicalFranklin
21Greater Fall River Regional Vocational TechnicalFall River
22MasconometBoxford
23Essex North Shore Agricultural And Technical School DistrictHathorne
24SharonSharon
25NatickNatick
26WaylandWayland
27FranklinFranklin
28WestboroughWestborough
29BraintreeBraintree
30WestwoodWestwood
31Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational TechnicalWakefield
32PlymouthPlymouth
33ChelmsfordChelmsford
34DuxburyDuxbury
35Old Colony Regional Vocational TechnicalRochester
36Greater New Bedford Regional Vocational TechnicalNew Bedford
37Bristol County AgriculturalDighton
38Dover-SherbornDover
39NashobaBolton
40MelroseMelrose
41ScituateScituate
42Nashoba Valley Regional Vocational TechnicalWestford
43North AndoverNorth Andover
44Bridgewater-RaynhamBridgewater
45ReadingReading
46LongmeadowLongmeadow
47MiltonMilton
48BedfordBedford
49Norfolk County AgriculturalWalpole
50WalpoleWalpole
51EastonNorth Easton
52MarshfieldMarshfield
53MedfieldMedfield
54MarbleheadMarblehead
55LynnfieldLynnfield
56CantonCanton
57King PhilipNorfolk
58Groton-DunstableGroton
59Somerset Berkley Regional School DistrictSomerset
60North ReadingNorth Reading
61WilmingtonWilmington
62MansfieldMansfield
63MedwayMedway
64AttleboroAttleboro
65NorwellNorwell
66Manchester Essex RegionalManchester
67NausetOrleans
68Hamilton-WenhamWenham
69FoxboroughFoxborough
70Hampden-WilbrahamWilbraham
71South Shore Regional Vocational TechnicalHanover
72North AttleboroughNorth Attleborough
73HarvardHarvard
74AbingtonAbington
75Silver LakeKingston
76Mount GreylockWilliamstown
77CohassetCohasset
78BurlingtonBurlington
79HollistonHolliston
80TewksburyTewksbury
81North MiddlesexTowsend
82Northern Berkshire Regional Vocational TechnicalNorth Adams
83WakefieldWakefield
84LittletonLittleton
85Old RochesterMattapoisett
86AshlandAshland
87IpswichIpswich
88HanoverHanover
89FalmouthEast Falmouth
90Whitman-HansonWhitman
91SwampscottSwampscott
92LeominsterLeominster
93BeverlyBeverly
94MaldenMalden
95SandwichSandwich
96East LongmeadowEast Longmeadow
97MethuenMethuen
98WeymouthWeymouth
99NewburyportNewburyport
100WoburnWoburn

Methodology

The following variables contributed to the ranking: number of students (K-12), graduation rate, school funding per student, student to teacher ratio, percent of students scoring above proficient in standardized state Math test, percent of students scoring above proficient in standardized state Reading and Language test. Data from a total of 10,247 public school districts were used to compute a score for each school district. The following states were omitted due to lack of sufficient data: Hawaii, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Utah, and Virginia. Note that high schools in some states have their own independent districts.

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