MA is Ranked Best in the Country for Education

Tuesday, August 02, 2016

GoLocalWorcester News Team

Massachusetts is ranked best in the country for education, according to a study released Monday morning.

"WalletHub’s analysts compared the quality of education in the 50 states and the District of Columbia to shine the spotlight on top-performing school systems. In making such a comparison, we examined each state and the District across 17 key metrics, ranging from “student-teacher ratio” to “average SAT and ACT scores” to “dropout rate," said WalletHub.

Massachusetts is ranked number one in both "school system quality" and "school system safety."

The Rankings

Massachusetts ranks number one ahead of New Jersey and Connecticut at 2 and 3 respectively. Vermont and Wisconsin round out the top 5, in that order.

Louisiana is ranked as having the worst school system.

See the full rankings in the map below.

Source: WalletHub

The Method

WalletHub's analysts compared the 50 U.S. States and the District of Columbia across two key dimensions, namely "School-System Quality" and "School-System Safety."

WalletHub evaluated these categories using 17 relevant metrics. Each metric was graded on a scale of 0 to 100, with 100 representing the best school system quality.

They then calculated overall scores for each state using the weighted average across all metrics. They used those to construct the rankings.

School-System Quality – Total Points: 80

Presence of State’s Public Schools Within the “Top 700 Best U.S. Schools”: Full Weight (~4.21 Points)

Note: The number of schools in the top 700 was adjusted by the number of schools for each state in the US News & World Report sample.

Remote-Learning Opportunities from Online Public Schools: Half Weight (~2.11 Points)
Dropout Rate: Double Weight (~8.42 Points)
High School Graduation Rate for Low-Income Students: Full Weight (~4.21 Points)
“Bookworms” Ranking: Half Weight (~2.11 Points)
Pupil-Teacher Ratio: Full Weight (~4.21 Points)
Percentage of Licensed/Certified Public K–12 Teachers: Full Weight (~4.21 Points)
Math Test Scores: Double Weight (~8.42 Points)
Reading Test Scores: Double Weight (~8.42 Points)
Percentage of High School Graduates Who Completed an Advanced Placement (AP) Exam: Double Weight (~8.42 Points)
Average SAT Score: Double Weight (~8.42 Points)
Average ACT Score: Double Weight (~8.42 Points)
Percentage of High School Graduates Who Completed the ACT and/or SAT: Double Weight (~8.42 Points)

Note: For this metric, the percentage sum may be larger than 100 percent because some students completed both standardized tests. However, no data specifying the number of students who did so are available.

School-System Safety – Total Points: 20

School Safety: Double Weight (~6.67 Points)

Note: This metric measures the percentage of public school students in grades 9 to 12 who reported being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property.

Disciplinary-Incidents Rate per 100,000 Students: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)
Bullying-Incidents Rate: Double Weight (~6.67 Points)
Youth Incarceration Rate per 100,000 Population under Age 21: Full Weight (~3.33 Points)

Related Slideshow: Central MA’s Top High Schools 2015

Prev Next

#100 Nipmuc Regional High

Upton, MA

2014 Rank: #134

Enrolment: 627

Mascot: Warrior

Claim to Fame: Aerosmith played its first gig at Nipmuc Regional high on November 6, 1970.

2015 performance at a glance

Graduation rate: 96.2% (+0.7%)

District spending per pupil: $11,900

Student-teacher ratio: 13:1

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#95 North Central Charter Essential

Fitchburg, MA

2014 Rank: #197

Enrolment: 217

Mascot: N/A

Claim to Fame: Students from over 30 cities and towns in central Massachusetts are eligible to enroll at North Central Charter Essential.

2015 performance at a glance

Graduation rate: 78% (-8.3%)

District spending per pupil: $13,569

Student-teacher ratio: 9.4:1

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#90 Shrewbury Senior High

Shrewsbury, MA

2014 Rank: #117

Enrolment: 1,684

Mascot: Colonial

Claim to Fame: Famous alumni include Shawn Loiseau, who played linebacker in the NFL.

2015 performance at a glance

Graduation rate: 94.9% (+0.2%)

District spending per pupil: $11,612

Student-teacher ratio: 14.8:1

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#87 Lunenburg High School

Lunenburg, MA

2014 Rank: #104

Enrollment: 427

Mascot: Blue Knights

Claim to Fame: Gordon Edes, a sportswriter for The Boston Globe, is a member of the class of 1972.

2015 performance at a glance

Graduation rate: 98.2% (+1.4%)

District spending per pupil: $12,027

Student-teacher ratio: 12.4:1

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#73 Tahanto Regional High

Boylston, MA

2014 Rank: #80

Enrollment: 297

Mascot: Stags

Claim to Fame: Students, teachers, and faculty now enjoy a $32.2M building that opened in 2013.

2015 performance at a glance

Graduation rate: 94.2% (+7.3%)

District spending per pupil: $11,644

Student-teacher ratio: 12:1

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#63 Tantasqua Regional High School

Fiskdale, MA

2014 Rank: #63

Enrollment: 770

Mascot: Warrior

Claim to Fame: Famous alumni include Joel Crouse (Country Singer) and James Lynch (Guitarist for the Dropkick Murphys).

2015 performance at a glance

Graduation rate: 91.7% (-3.2%)

District spending per pupil: $12,403

Student-teacher ratio: 9.6:1

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#51 Algonquin Regional High

Northborough, MA

2014 Rank: #33

Enrollment: 1,452

Mascot: The Tomahawk (T-Hawk)

Claim to Fame: Famous alumni include Mark "The Bird" Fidrych (former MLB pitcher), Ryan Gallant (professional skateboarder), Nathaniel Raymond (human rights investigator and anti-torture advocate), and Mike Sherman (former head coach of the Green Bay Packers), and current offensive coordinator of the Miami Dolphins).

2015 performance at a glance

Graduation rate: 97.1% (-0.4%)

District spending per pupil: $12,929

Student-teacher ratio: 13.7:1

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#45 Nashoba Regional

Bolton, MA

2014 Rank: #76

Enrollment: 1,075

Mascot: Chieftain

Claim to Fame: Famous alumni include Hal Gill (National Hockey League player with the Nashville Predators), Koren Zailckas (Author of bestselling book Smashed), and Clive Weeden (Professional basketball player).

2015 performance at a glance

Graduation rate: 95.3% (+0.2%)

District spending per pupil: $13,107

Student-teacher ratio: 14.2:1

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#40 Hopkinton High

Hopkinton, MA

2014 Rank: # 53

Enrollment: 1,122

Mascot: Hillers

Claim to Fame: Famous alumni include Keegan Bradley (Professional Golfer).

2015 performance at a glance

Graduation rate: 99% (-0.2%)

District spending per pupil: $13,005

Student-teacher ratio: 13.9:1

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#26 Westborough High

Westborough, MA

2014 Rank: #26

Enrollment: 1,045

Mascot: The Ranger

Claim to Fame: Westborough High offers a wide variety of curricular and extracurricular musical ensembles.

2015 performance at a glance

Graduation rate: 97.1% (+0.5%)

District spending per pupil: $14,306

Student-teacher ratio: 12.7:1

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#14 Bromfield School

Harvard, MA

2014 Rank: #13

Enrollment: 414

Mascot: Trojan

Claim to Fame: Famous alumni include Keir O'Donnell (Starred in the popular comedy movie the Wedding Crashers) and Lynn Jennings (In 1992 she became the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in long-distance track).

2015 performance at a glance

Graduation rate: 97.1% (-1.2%)

District spending per pupil: $14,691

Student-teacher ratio: 12.9:1

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#8 MA Academy for Math and Science

Worcester, MA

2014 Rank: #285

Enrollment: 97

Mascot: Gompei the Goat

Claim to Fame: Seniors at MA Academy for Math and Science take a full-time course load at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

2015 performance at a glance

Graduation rate:100% (0%)

District spending per pupil: $13,466

Student-teacher ratio: 13.1:1

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#5 Advanced Math and Science Academy

Charter School

Marlborough, MA

2014 Rank: #6

Enrollment: 569

Mascot: War Eagle

Claim to Fame: Advanced Math and Science Academy offers more than ten computer science classes to students: ranging from Game Design to Intro to Java/Networking.

2015 performance at a glance

Graduation rate: 99% (+0.4%)

District spending per pupil: $14,723

Student-teacher ratio: 12.3:1