Best Schools Boston 2011

BOSTON’S BEST PUBLIC SCHOOLS 2011

Our exclusive ranking of the region’s school districts.

Part I: In the Classroom | Part II: Achievement Scores

Ranking	School District	Enrollment	Student/Teacher Ratio	Per-Pupil Spending	Graduation Rate	No. of Sports Teams	Half or Full Pre-K	No. AP Classes
1	Dover-Sherborn	1,155	11.6:1	15,901	98.1	36	None	14
2	Concord-Carlisle	1,208	13.9:1	18,872	96.4	56	Both	9
3	Weston	2,365	12.2:1	18,591	96	53	Both	15
4	Lincoln-Sudbury	1,614	12.9:1	16,324	97	63	None	18
5	Lexington	6,366	11.8:1	15,862	92.8	48	Full	20
6	Manchester Essex	1,518	13.9:1	13,582	95.3	42	Half	14
7	Wayland	2,686	14:01	15,219	96.5	55	Full	7
8	Northborough-Southborough	1,438	13.9:1	13,695	98.1	58	Both	20
9	Hamilton-Wenham	1,976	12.4:1	14,283	93.8	39	Half	7
10	Sharon	3,435	13.6:1	13,932	96.9	28	Full	17
11	Wellesley	4,892	13.3:1	15,392	96.7	70	Full	14
12	Newton	11,934	13.2:1	16,597	94.5	139	Half	39
13	Cohasset	1,535	13.6:1	13,520	92.9	37	Half	10
14	Westwood	3,148	13.8:1	13,814	94.9	50	Both	20
15	Acton-Boxborough	2,421	16.6:1	13,110	96.4	59	Both	15
16	Newburyport	2,267	13.3:1	13,435	89.9	35	Half	12
17	Medfield	2,939	15.3:1	10,741	97.7	59	Half	12
18	Bedford	2,383	12.3:1	15,961	89.9	57	Half	8
19	Holliston	2,870	13.3:1	12,186	93.4	48	Half	13
20	Winchester	4,282	14.8:1	11,363	94.9	72	Both	16
21	Masconomet	2,090	15.5:1	12,718	96	55	None	18
22	Belmont	3,928	15.7:1	11,609	92.3	42	Half	27
23	Brookline	6,627	12.6:1	17,090	90	41	Both	18
24	Marblehead	3,206	13.7:1	12,235	90.4	56	Half	15
25	Cambridge Rindge and Latin	6,019	10.5:1	25,737	85.2	65	Full	15
26	Westford	5,291	14.6:1	10,697	94.6	65	Both	17
27	Duxbury	3,247	14.2:1	11,084	98.9	58	Half	18
28	Old Rochester	1,190	13.7:1	14,045	92.9	46	Both	8
29	Nashoba	3,495	14.2:1	12,521	92.6	44	Half	14
30	Hopkinton	3,454	14.7:1	11,921	97.3	44	Half	14
31	Needham	5,358	15.2:1	13,245	94.9	62	Half	12
32	Natick	4,825	14.1:1	12,910	93.2	66	Both	13
33	Medway	2,640	14.2:1	10,964	96.8	47	Both	15
34	Lynnfield	2,308	15.7:1	11,033	97.1	43	Both	10
35	Silver Lake	1,926	13.8:1	12,425	96.7	46	Half	12
36	Foxborough	2,836	13.6:1	12,125	96.3	46	Both	11
37	Burlington	3,652	12.7:1	14,276	95.1	47	Half	12
38	Andover	6,178	14.2:1	13,263	95.3	70	Both	14
39	Hingham	4,100	15.1:1	10,982	96.4	59	Both	16
40	Swampscott	2,273	13:01	12,448	94	39	Half	8
41	Ipswich	2,111	14.3:1	10,902	96	43	Half	15
42	Ashland	2,624	16.6:1	11,546	97.2	47	Both	17
43	Canton	3,218	13.4:1	12,916	91.4	46	Half	12
44	Norwell	2,343	16.3:1	11,380	96.6	47	Half	15
45	North Reading	2,675	14.3:1	11,288	93.9	46	Half	10
46	Arlington	4,808	13.7:1	12,502	93.3	60	Both	14
47	Rockport	946	12.5:1	13,067	87.9	21	Full	9
48	Georgetown	1,652	15.4:1	9,148	94.7	31	Both	6
49	Hanover	2,685	13.3:1	10,561	95.7	N/A	Half	13
50	Somerset	2,756	12.6:1	12,536	91.8	44	Half	11
51	Wakefield	3,359	14:01	11,419	95.9	48	Full	13
52	Reading Memorial	4,459	14.5:1	10,749	86.1	57	Full	13
53	Watertown	2,649	11.7:1	15,985	82	37	Full	12
54	Waltham	4,796	11.2:1	18,960	72.6	60	Full	14
55	Walpole	3,961	14.9:1	11,971	92.9	43	Full	15
56	Littleton	1,584	16.1:1	11,881	91.1	30	Full	11
57	Dedham	2,879	13.3:1	14,852	83.7	43	Both	15
58	Freetown-Lakeville	1,920	13.9:1	10,920	87.5	N/A	Both	8
59	North Andover	4,638	15.6:1	11,277	95.7	65	Half	14
60	Scituate	3,276	14.2:1	10,992	92.7	51	Half	13
61	King Philip Regional	2,142	17.6:1	11,742	87.1	46	None	17
62	Pentucket	3,129	14.3:1	10,751	88.9	44	Half	11
63	Framingham	8,182	12.6:1	15,675	84	57	Both	18
64	Carver	1,785	13.7:1	11,521	84.3	30	Both	9
65	Marshfield	4,671	14.6:1	10,054	94	54	Full	17
66	Franklin	6,032	14.7:1	10,326	95.8	52	Half	15
67	Easton	3,893	15:01	10,201	93.4	46	Half	10
68	Millis	1,465	15.7:1	10,391	93.3	33	Half	7
69	Stoneham	2,550	13.3:1	11,577	92.3	24	Half	10
70	Danvers	3,637	14:01	12,626	89.4	57	None	15
71	Milton	3,921	15.3:1	11,792	92.5	55	Both	18
72	West Bridgewater	1,299	16.2:1	9,926	94.8	20	Half	9
73	Norwood	3,454	12.8:1	12,790	89	52	Half	18
74	Braintree	5,467	14.2:1	10,927	92.5	62	N/A	18
75	Hull	1,164	14.1:1	13,009	84.9	25	Full	8
76	Hudson	2,993	13.6:1	11,879	82.4	56	Half	15
77	Chelmsford	5,307	15.8:1	10,550	89.4	71	Half	13
78	Dartmouth	3,964	14.9:1	10,703	91.6	44	None	17
79	Wilmington	3,732	13.8:1	11,573	91.1	50	Half	5
80	Stoughton	3,777	12.7:1	11,605	81.9	40	Full	12
81	Plymouth	8,126	13.9:1	12,562	88.5	94	Half	34
82	Triton Regional	3,059	14.6:1	11,503	88.3	45	Half	11
83	Marlborough	4,573	12.9:1	13,825	84.4	63	Both	22
84	Mansfield	4,826	16.3:1	9,947	91.8	55	Half	12
85	Maynard	1,312	14.4:1	13,321	84.3	26	Both	10
86	Norton	2,780	15.4:1	10,932	82.6	29	Both	9
87	Gloucester	3,203	13.3:1	12,844	86.5	41	Half	11
88	Winthrop	1,961	13.8:1	11,089	78.1	38	Half	9
89	Beverly	4,251	14.2:1	12,259	86	46	Half	14
90	East Bridgewater	2,314	16.2:1	9,989	95.9	26	Half	7
91	Pembroke	3,378	16.3:1	9,953	95	45	Half	15
92	Amesbury	2,385	14.4:1	12,384	82	15	Half	5
93	Billerica	5,792	14.7:1	12,006	87.1	57	Half	10
94	Melrose	3,775	15.8:1	10,493	93.6	35	Both	13
95	Seekonk	2,141	14.9:1	11,353	88.5	37	Half	5
96	North Attleborough	4,692	16.4:1	9,837	88.8	48	Half	7
97	Whitman-Hanson Regional	2,275	17:01	10,204	86.7	43	Both	8
98	Medford	4,849	14.3:1	12,818	78	43	Both	15
99	Middleborough	3,457	15.4:1	11,576	82.6	39	Half	11
100	Swansea	2,038	14.1:1	10,586	96.4	55	Full	3
101	Avon	772	11.9:1	12,747	88.9	16	Half	3
102	Dighton-Rehoboth	3,186	14.8:1	10,416	88.7	28	Half	5
103	Abington	2,016	17.2:1	10,247	86.8	25	Half	5
104	Tewksbury	4,049	16.6:1	10,926	84	43	Half	8
105	Fair Haven	1,984	14.4:1	11,274	72.6	36	Half	9
106	Weymouth	6,935	15.4:1	11,183	81.5	54	Both	18
107	Woburn	4,809	12.9:1	14,024	86.2	45	Half	10
108	Quincy	9,125	13.2:1	13,942	83.1	24	Full	36
109	Westport	1,835	15.4:1	10,594	82	24	Both	5
110	Wareham	3,084	13.2:1	11,652	77.9	36	Full	15
111	Randolph	2,876	13.1:1	14,994	66.7	24	Half	11
112	Saugus	2,849	14:01	11,769	80.5	59	Both	8
113	Dracut	4,018	17:01	9,876	83.4	51	Half	8
114	Bellingham	2,567	15.3:1	10,656	81.4	32	Half	5
115	Salem	4,565	11:01	13,867	79.1	40	Half	13
116	Methuen	7,112	14.6:1	10,912	79.2	59	Half	25
117	Peabody	6,075	14.4:1	13,351	77.6	41	Full	14
118	Somerville	4,855	12.4:1	15,937	72.6	46	Full	10
119	Malden	6,565	14.7:1	12,400	71.7	41	Both	19
120	Attleboro	5,855	15.5:1	11,217	82.2	41	Half	12
121	Rockland	2,260	16.3:1	12,047	79.6	33	Half	5
122	Everett	6,142	14.2:1	12,441	76.8	41	Full	41
123	Haverhill	6,804	15:01	11,484	66.2	49	Half	15
124	Bridgewater-Raynham	5,707	19.9:1	10,525	92.5	42	Half	8
125	Revere	6,229	14.5:1	12,779	69	30	None	13
126	Taunton	7,912	15.7:1	10,828	76.3	52	Half	13
127	Boston	56,037	13.3:1	16,666	63.2	196	Both	155
128	Holbrook	1,187	13.7:1	12,873	65.5	16	Half	4
129	Lowell	13,600	13.7:1	12,899	69.4	63	Half	14
130	Fall River	9,873	14.2:1	13,284	66.2	29	Both	14
131	Lynn	13,547	14.8:1	13,158	68.5	57	Full	14
132	Chelsea	5,570	13.4:1	13,411	53.3	21	Half	13
133	Brockton	15,828	14.1:1	12,382	66.7	44	None	11
134	New Bedford	12,538	14.1:1	12,874	53.5	46	Full	23
135	Lawrence	12,784	13.2:1	13,955	46.7	21	Half	N/A

Research By: Mara Berg, Laura Biedron, Caitlin Bueller, Stephanie Horst, Rebecca Klein, Chris Malloy, Ursula Munn, Hannah Sawyer, Gillian Smith, and Lindsay Tucker
METHODOLOGY
Our rankings were computed by statistician George Recck, director of the Math Resources Center at Babson College. We gathered the most recent available data on area school districts by consulting school officials and websites, as well as the Massachusetts Department of Education. With this information, Recck calculated the mean scores for each category, then ranked the districts based on a weighted average of each school data point’s difference from the mean.