Best Schools 2011: The Rankings

Our exclusive ranking of the region's school districts.

September 2011

Text Size: A | A | A

: Photograph by Angela Coppola

HOW ARE THE SCHOOLS?

It’s a question you’ve gotten used to asking. Whether you’re thinking about a move or wondering if you should stay put, you ask your friends, your in-laws, your stockbroker, your real estate agent. You ask everyone. There’s just so much riding on the answer, from the value of your home to how likely your kid is to get into a good college (assuming you still think college is a worthwhile investment, something more and more of us are questioning these days, as you can see here).

Is College Over?
A lot of very smart people are beginning to think so. Read more here.

At the Roundtable:
How do we fix higher education?

So to answer that all-important question, we ran the numbers. We compared test scores from elementary, middle, and high schools in 135 districts, then looked within those districts to determine how schools were improving (or not) over time. Next, we called superintendents, principals, teachers, coaches, administrative assistants, and guidance counselors to ask: How many AP classes do you have? Can a kid play freshman sports? Do you offer pre-K of any kind? Will a child’s passion for math, science, or writing be fostered here? (The vast majority were helpful, though we did get hung up on once because it was Field Day.)

Finally, we crunched the data and came up with this, our exclusive ranking of the region’s 50 best school districts.

Click here for the rankings

Plus: By the Numbers

Originally published in Boston magazine, September 2011

PRINT ARTICLE

•	Dining Out at Area Four (Restaurant Review)

•	Living Large: Rachel Slade's Off-Kilter Take on Boston Real Estate and Design February 2012

•	Sheer Delights: Lace Lingerie in Bold Shade

•	The Roast Beef Sandwich: Fancy and Affordable

•	Spring Fashion: Ready to Pop

•	Electric Youth: Why Susan Linn and the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood Terrify Child Advertisers

•	Where to Eat in Boston in 2012: The Guide to the City's Newest Restaurants

•	Clash of the Massachusetts Casino Titans

•	Shut the F* Up!: Is Bill O'Reilly a Crazy Narcissist?**

User Comments:

ridiculous ranking for Cambridge
Posted by Anonymous | Aug. 30, 2011 at 12:21 PM

COMMENT:

IF Cambridge ranks 25th, when every single test score -- MCAS and SAT are so low, there is something wrong. How could anyone not see the error? Cambridge should be about 100th, based on all its achievement scores listed. You've got to be kidding. Seriously -- look at the scores then explain how it got ranked so high. We spend $25,000 a student for those results? I am ashamed of my city. As a taxpayer, I want a refund.

What about schools outside the 495 belt?
Posted by Anonymous | Aug. 30, 2011 at 8:04 PM

COMMENT:

There are some great school districts outside of the 495 belt, yet I don't see any on your list. How come?

Cambridge
Posted by Anonymous | Aug. 31, 2011 at 3:18 PM

COMMENT:

Good point - if you look at it, the high per pupil spending is what got Cambridge ranked so high. High spending does not equate to high achievement. If anything, you should rank scores in correlation to how little was spent per pupil.

Where's Groton?
Posted by Mike | Sep. 1, 2011 at 6:38 AM

COMMENT:

Top 35 last year? Now it doesn't make the top 135? Explanation?

Flawed results
Posted by raj555000 | Sep. 1, 2011 at 7:49 AM

COMMENT:

Where is Westborough. Ovbiously it is not THAT bad! The author(s) need to make all corrections and repost the article. RK

north attleboro SAT reading? 823
Posted by Sean | Sep. 1, 2011 at 2:37 PM

COMMENT:

is this number possible? seems out of sorts, next highest is 203 points lower.

Terrible system penalizes efficiency!
Posted by Tom | Sep. 1, 2011 at 3:01 PM

COMMENT:

Ranking Winchester (clearly a top 3!) as well as Westford and Belmont so low is a joke! All due to low per-pupil spending. In fact spend more (C R&L is >2x) and get same scores (C R&L is much lower) and watch your ranking improve. Winch is ranked below Manch/Essex,No/Southboro, Ham/Wenh,Westwd,Bedford - yet not one of 12 reported scores matches or exceeds Winchester's. Embarassed for the magazine.

Misleading article
Posted by Pat | Sep. 1, 2011 at 4:48 PM

COMMENT:

This article is very misleading. You need to describe the geographic boundaries of the schools that you are ranking. Based on past rankings you have somehow changed your criteria. In order to maintain any integrity you need to make quite a few corrections.

Special Education
Posted by Anonymous | Sep. 1, 2011 at 5:31 PM

COMMENT:

I would be interested in knowing what portion of the "per student" expenditure is for special education services (especially for out-of-district placements as, if included, this would skew the 'per pupil' expenditure average). Also, for families that have a special needs student, a of ranking of how these public schools rate in helping our special kids become successful students would be extremely interesting and useful (# of programs in place for learning strategies, pragmatics, sensitivity training, does the school offer enough support in-house, what percentage of the students are placed out-of-district, # of special education qualified teachers, support of administration for a strong special education program).

Best schools?
Posted by dalork | Sep. 1, 2011 at 6:26 PM

COMMENT:

what happened to Westborough School District? It has been in the top 20 for the last four years, and appears nowhere in this year's ranking?

not a very accurate "best" list
Posted by Anonymous | Sep. 2, 2011 at 2:13 PM

COMMENT:

Boylston/Berlin ma school district was ranked in the top 500 schools in the COUNTRY....and it doesn't make the Massachusetts list, but Chelsea does? Really? It's unfortunate there are no great schools outside of route 495.

Geography
Posted by Anonymous | Sep. 3, 2011 at 1:17 AM

COMMENT:

Everyone who is complaining that the list doesn't include districts outside the 495 belt...the magazine is called BOSTON Magazine and the rankings are for schools around Boston. I'm sure there are great schools out there but people in an around Boston don't care about schools outside 495...likewise, I'm sure people out there don't care about these schools.

Ranking list seems to be flawed
Posted by Anonymous | Sep. 4, 2011 at 2:33 PM

COMMENT:

Too much emphasis placed on $ spend/student and student/teacher ratio. Although these are important factors, overall student performance should have a higher % weight.

Groton Dunstable?
Posted by Donna | Sep. 7, 2011 at 11:11 AM

COMMENT:

I'm confused as to the obvious change in methodology you are using this year. Groton-Dunstable was 31st last year, and this year, despite reduction of class size and increased funding per student, doesn't appear in the rankings at all? If there was an exclusion of schools outside of 495 this year, please say so in the article, otherwise the implication is that schools outside of 495 were considered for inclusion and didn't qualify. Also: where is the expanded list, this year?

TOTAL JOKE
Posted by Anonymous | Sep. 7, 2011 at 2:25 PM

COMMENT:

I lived in Dover and the schools are good, but #1 - I don't think so. Your metrics pander to the realtors who advertise in your pages.

More analysis
Posted by glenn | Sep. 7, 2011 at 3:39 PM

COMMENT:

I did a bunch more analysis of this data here: click here I also incorporated some public demographic data (income, race breakdowns, lunch-subsidy percentages) for extra perspective, which reveals some pretty interesting correlations (and non-correlations).

Thanks, glenn!
Posted by Anonymous | Sep. 7, 2011 at 4:14 PM

COMMENT:

Thanks for this amazing look at the data, glenn! Well worth a look. The quant difference is amazing without those two misleading numbers.

Special Ed, Spending Distribution
Posted by glenn | Sep. 8, 2011 at 8:03 AM

COMMENT:

The state has detailed figures about spending here: click here For example, the breakdown of spending in Cambridge is here: click here

Missing Schools?
Posted by Anonymous | Sep. 8, 2011 at 10:04 AM

COMMENT:

I agree with many of the comments regarding the missing schools. There are many excellent schools systems that this article has neglected to mention. Aside from the few already discussed (Westboro, Groton), Harvard is another. Yes, this is "Boston Magazine", but there are many towns included on this list that border the above mentioned towns (such as Nashoba-Bolton/Stow/Lancaster, Littleton, etc.). It certainly doesn't give a clear picture for folks looking to compare schools, when one town is listed and a town immediately bordering is not.

Money Changes Everything (or does it?)
Posted by glenn | Sep. 8, 2011 at 6:50 PM

COMMENT:

Thoughtful comments are welcomed and encouraged. We reserve the right to remove impersonators, personal attacks, threats, or offensive language. In other words, be respectful of our online community and contribute to an engaging conversation.

Money Changes Everything (or does it?)
Posted by glenn | Sep. 8, 2011 at 6:54 PM

COMMENT:

I found that the percentage of students receiving subsidized lunches is a disturbingly good predictor for school quality as measured by test scores. My next question was whether, when you adjust for expectations based on this percentage, per-pupil spending was correlated with quality. That is, does spending more money in school counteract home poverty? No, not much. click here +School+Money+at+Home+Poverty click here +School+Money+at+Home+Poverty

This comment system doesn't like me
Posted by glenn | Sep. 8, 2011 at 6:57 PM

COMMENT:

I'll try this again: click here +School+Money+at+Home+Poverty If that doesn't take you to the page labeled "Throwing School Money at Home Poverty", look for that listing in the index...

Two more errors
Posted by glenn | Sep. 10, 2011 at 9:53 PM

COMMENT:

A couple more errors I caught while cross-checking these figures against the DOE's: Manchester Essex's SAT Reading score is 559, not 599 as listed. I'm guessing the correct figure could lower ME's rank. Ashland's SAT Reading score is 531, not 537 as listed.

School Ranking
Posted by Anonymous | Sep. 12, 2011 at 7:16 AM

COMMENT:

Why is Westborough not included in this year's ranking when it has been included in the past?

Winchester Ranking
Posted by Anonymous | Sep. 13, 2011 at 12:32 PM

COMMENT:

Winchester is in the top 5 for almost every category of the achievement test scores. Why is it ranked so low at #20?

Winchester Ranking
Posted by Anonymous | Sep. 13, 2011 at 12:32 PM

COMMENT:

Winchester is in the top 5 for almost every category of the achievement test scores. Why is it ranked so low at #20?

I spoke with Boston Magazine
Posted by Anonymous | Sep. 13, 2011 at 12:50 PM

COMMENT:

I spoke with BM. Evidently, they decides to focus on districts verses high schools and that being said, it was more comprehensive so they tuned in to schools within the 495 belt. I still cant figure out why they included Bellingham and Bolton (both on 495) and not Westborough. Regardless, I think BM needs to disclose when it changes it parameters. Many schools are now on the list and shouldn't be due to many good school districts that were not considered. Very unfortunate and inconsistent.

Winchester
Posted by glenn | Sep. 13, 2011 at 9:37 PM

COMMENT:

Winchester ranks 90th in per-pupil spending and 93rd in students per teacher. My re-ranking, which ignores these two factors, ranks Winchester 3rd, after only Lexington and Acton.

Schools left out
Posted by Anonymous | Sep. 14, 2011 at 6:29 AM

COMMENT:

Westborough has a great school system and was ranked 15 last year. Its puzzling that BM would just leave out schools and not make it clear and upfront as to why certain schools were left out of the rankings. How are these rankings valid if the neighboring school districts are in and some are left out.

boston's best schools
Posted by Anonymous | Sep. 17, 2011 at 11:36 AM

COMMENT:

Why do you print these silly articles. This is America. The median home price in a town or neighborhood tells you all you need to know about the quality of the schools.

Lunch Subsidies predict scores better than Median Home Prices
Posted by glenn | Sep. 17, 2011 at 10:11 PM

COMMENT:

Median Home Prices are wildly misleading in urban areas with high concentrations of rented apartments, and even in the suburbs are signficantly worse predictors of test scores (at least) than the percentage of students who receive subsidized lunches. Which doesn't prove that you're wrong, but the data definitely doesn't prove you right...

Disappointed to see Westborough excluded
Posted by Anonymous | Sep. 20, 2011 at 9:19 PM

COMMENT:

BM really should be clear about its region as Westborough was always highly ranked in recent years and now not listed. Yes it's "Boston" Magazine but lots of us living on 495 commute to Boston and therefore consider ourselves in the region. We're 45 minutes from Boston and BM is sold at the local supermarkets so we're in your readership area. Guess I'll buy Worcester Mag instead.

Westborough
Posted by glenn | Sep. 20, 2011 at 9:52 PM

COMMENT:

Using my scoring, Westborough would be tied with Sharon for 14th.

Deanna
Posted by Deanna | Sep. 28, 2011 at 1:24 PM

COMMENT:

Just an FYI - Billerica School District has both full and half day K available!

Manchester Essex Test Scores
Posted by Anonymous | Nov. 26, 2011 at 7:23 AM

COMMENT:

The test scores at Manchester Essex are glaringly low. Should there not be a penalty assessed for such high spending per student with such poor results?

Test Scores - Manchester Essex
Posted by Anonymous | Nov. 26, 2011 at 7:43 AM

COMMENT:

The test scores at Manchester Essex are glaringly low. Should there not be a penalty for the high spending per student with such poor results? These rankings don't seem very sincere.

Where are the Boston Public Exam Schools?
Posted by devans | Dec. 28, 2011 at 2:54 PM

COMMENT:

No Boston Latin School, Boston Latin Academy, or O'Bryant? I get the inside 495 thing - what's the explanation for leaving Boston public off?

Well that's better
Posted by devans | Dec. 28, 2011 at 3:09 PM

COMMENT:

check out newsweek - click here - BLS top of the Massachusetts high schools

Best Schools 2011: The Rankings

Our exclusive ranking of the region's school districts.

User Comments:

Guide to Colleges and Universities 2012

Guide to Private Schools 2011

Best of Boston 2011 iPhone App

Dental Profiles

Medical Profiles

MAGAZINE

BEST OF BOSTON

WEDDINGS

BOSTON HOME

REAL ESTATE

BLOGS

GUIDES