See the 7 Massachusetts Blue Ribbon Schools for 2023
These are the seven Massachusetts Blue Ribbon Schools for 2023. Take a look and see if your neighborhood school made the list. If you’re not familiar, the U.S. Department of…
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These are the seven Massachusetts Blue Ribbon Schools for 2023. Take a look and see if your neighborhood school made the list.
If you're not familiar, the U.S. Department of Education each year recognizes a number of schools as National Blue Ribbon Schools. They base this distinction on a school’s overall academic performance or on a school's progress in bridging achievement gaps among certain student subgroups on assorted assessments. This year's list named 353 schools nationally; 7 are here in the Commonwealth.
From the U.S. Department of education press release: "The honorees for our 2023 National Blue Ribbon Schools Award have set a national example for what it means to Raise the Bar in education,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “The leaders, educators, and staff at our National Blue Ribbon Schools continually inspire me with their dedication to fostering academic excellence and building positive school cultures that support students of all backgrounds to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally."
See the 7 Massachusetts Blue Ribbon Schools for 2023
The Massachusetts schools named as National Blue Ribbon Schools were:
- Andover – Andover West Middle School, Andover Public Schools
- Boylston – Tahanto Regional High School, Berlin-Boylston Regional School District
- Cambridge – Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School, Benjamin Banneker Charter Public
- Hopedale – Hopedale Junior Senior High School, Hopedale Public Schools
- Hyannis – Sturgis Charter Public School, Sturgis Charter Public
- Plymouth – Manomet Elementary School, Plymouth Public Schools
- Somerville – John F. Kennedy School, Somerville Public Schools
As I shared in my piece on the Top 25 Massachusetts school district ranking for 2023, I’m a father of two school-aged children, so these annual rankings interest me. Also, I’m a volunteer with my city’s SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Council), so I see value in all people having information on how school districts perform. Now that you've seen the list of Blue Ribbon schools, dig into the Top 25 list review here.
Massachusetts School District Ranking: The Top 25 for 2023
The latest Massachusetts school district ranking has been released, so let's take a look at the Top 25 school districts for 2023.
The ranking was first reported on by Boston 25 News, and you can dig into their full report here. I'm sharing the list here for two reasons. One, I'm a father of two school-aged children, so these annual rankings interest me. Two, I'm a volunteer with my city's SEPAC (Special Education Parent Advisory Council), so I see value in all people having information on how school districts perform.
The report was released by Niche, and it's titled 2024 Best School Districts in Massachusetts. To pull a quote from Boston 25's piece, "Niche said its 2024 ranking is based on “rigorous analysis of key statistics and millions of reviews from students and parents using data from the U.S. Department of Education.”" In other words, this isn't some silly "Best Fall Cities" list. There's legit research here.
Massachusetts School District Ranking: The Top 25 for 2023
Here's a bit more on the methodology, straight from the Boston 25 report: "Ranking factors included state test scores, college readiness, graduation rates, teacher quality, public school district ratings, and more. SAT/ACT scores were removed from this year’s rankings to reflect a general de-emphasis on test scores in the college admissions process." I, for one, am glad to see the de-emphasis on test scores.
In news that should surprise no one, the top school districts are in cities and towns with a lot of money. That's why I'm glad that Boston 25 shared the Top 25 and not just the Top 10. I'll take you through the Top 10 below so you can see who landed where, but you'll also be able to see who rounds out the Top 25, as that part of the list is important, too. The full list of 239 can be found here.
1) Hopkinton
Overall Niche grade: A+
2) Weston
Overall Niche grade: A+
3) Brookline
Overall Niche grade: A+
4) Dover-Sherborn
Overall Niche grade: A+
5) Newton
Overall Niche grade: A+
6) Wellesley
Overall Niche grade: A+
7) Belmont
Overall Niche grade: A+
8) Wayland
Overall Niche grade: A+
9) Lexington
Overall Niche grade: A+
10) Winchester
Overall Niche grade: A+
11-25
11) Westboro
12) Shrewsbury
13) Westford
14) Sharon
15) Needham
16) Westwood
17) Harvard
18) Amherst-Pelham
19) Cambridge
20) Bedford
21) Acton-Boxboro
22) Lynnfield
23) Natick
24) Medfield
25) Duxbury
