New Hampshire is one of the 13 colonies that signed the Declaration of Independence and helped bring the United States into existence. Despite its small size and population, New Hampshire has delivered larger than life comedic personalities including Adam Sandler, Seth Meyers, and Sarah Silverman.
Dresden School District is an historic district in an historic state. This district is the nation’s first interstate district, serving both students in Hanover, NH as well as those in Norwich, VT. Students in this district can immerse themselves in America’s rich history through a partnership with The Norwich Historical Society.
Second on the list is Sunapee School District located in the town of Sunapee and surrounding area. This district is proud to claim a 95% graduation rate, well above the state average. Students also outperform both state and national averages when it comes to SAT scores.
Portsmouth School District in Rockingham County takes 3rd on the list. With an emphasis on academic excellence, this district has been able to achieve manageable class sizes averaging just 18.8 students with an impressive 11 to 1 student to teacher ratio. The recent graduating class saw a 97% graduation rate with over 80% of graduates attending college.
In 4th place is Oyster River Cooperative School District, serving the communities of Durham, Lee, and Madbury. This district exceeds state and national SAT score averages in all categories and maintains reasonably small class sizes for students to engage with teachers more effectively.
Finally, rounding out the list is Bedford School District. Located in Hillsborough County, Bedford School District emphasizes technology, with 1-to-1 iPad distribution amongst students. All students and teachers are provided with iPads to better enable learning, development, and collaboration.
Top School Districts in New Hampshire, 2019
Rank School District County City State
1 Dresden School District Grafton County Hanover New Hampshire
2 Sunapee School District Sullivan County Sunapee New Hampshire
3 Portsmouth School District Rockingham County Portsmouth New Hampshire
4 Oyster River Coop School District Strafford County Durham New Hampshire
5 Bedford School District Hillsborough County Bedford New Hampshire
6 Souhegan Cooperative School District Hillsborough County Amherst New Hampshire
7 Lebanon School District Grafton County West Lebanon New Hampshire
8 Windham School District Rockingham County Windham New Hampshire
9 Moultonborough School District Carroll County Moultonborough New Hampshire
10 Bow School District Merrimack County Bow New Hampshire
11 Hopkinton School District Merrimack County Contoocook New Hampshire
12 Hollis/Brookline Coop School District Hillsborough County Hollis New Hampshire
13 Winnacunnet Coop School District Rockingham County Hampton New Hampshire
14 Gilford School District Belknap County Gilford New Hampshire
15 Rivendell Interstate School District Grafton County Orford New Hampshire
16 Kearsarge Regional School District Merrimack County New London New Hampshire
17 Salem School District Rockingham County Salem New Hampshire
18 Keene School District Cheshire County Keene New Hampshire
19 Exeter Region Coop School District Rockingham County Exeter New Hampshire
20 Timberlane Regional School District Rockingham County Plaistow New Hampshire
21 Profile School District Grafton County Littleton New Hampshire
22 Litchfield School District Hillsborough County Litchfield New Hampshire
23 Inter-lakes School District Belknap County Meredith New Hampshire
24 Pemi-baker Regional School District Grafton County Plymouth New Hampshire
25 Conway School District Carroll County Conway New Hampshire
Methodology
The following contributed to the ranking: number of students (K-12), graduation rate, teacher quality, school funding, student to teacher ratio, standardized test results (reading and math; the percentage of students scoring at or above state proficiency level). Data from a total of 10,728 school districts had sufficient values for the variables above.
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