Acushnet vs Fairhaven Schools
How the two districts, about 6 miles apart, compare on test scores, high school results, classrooms, spending and housing.
The short answer
- Overall: Acushnet ranks higher, #78 to Fairhaven's #124 of 328 Massachusetts districts.
- MCAS 2026: Acushnet students score higher: ELA 43% vs 40%, Math 46% vs 46% met expectations.
- High school: Acushnet has no high school in our rankings (its students may attend a regional high school), so only Fairhaven has SAT and graduation figures (SAT average 1115).
- Spending: Fairhaven spends $2,177 more per student ($18,260 vs $16,083).
- Homes: Similar: single-family homes average $502K in Acushnet and $476K in Fairhaven. The average tax bill is $5,244 in Acushnet and $4,374 in Fairhaven.
- Class size: Smaller in Fairhaven: 15.4 students on average vs 18.9.
MCAS results, 2026
Share of students meeting or exceeding expectations, all tested grades combined. The districts serve different grades (Acushnet: grades 3–8; Fairhaven: grades 3–10), so the state figure isn't shown.
| Year | Acushnet | Fairhaven |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 43% | 40% |
| 2025 | 49% | 44% |
| 2024 | 50% | 43% |
| 2023 | 50% | 45% |
| 2022 | 48% | 44% |
| 2021 | 51% | 53% |
| Year | Acushnet | Fairhaven |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 46% | 46% |
| 2025 | 48% | 44% |
| 2024 | 53% | 52% |
| 2023 | 51% | 50% |
| 2022 | 51% | 50% |
| 2021 | 42% | 44% |
No test in 2020. Statewide 10th-grade results dropped after 2024, when passing the MCAS stopped being a graduation requirement.
High school results
Averages of each district's ranked high schools. "MA avg" is the average of all districts with high school data.
Classrooms, teachers & spending
Spending is total per-pupil expenditure from all sources in FY2024. Class size is the average across all classes in the district.
Students
| Acushnet | Fairhaven | |
|---|---|---|
| Students in classes | 926 | 1,737 |
| English learners | 0.3% | 2.2% |
| Students with disabilities | 17.3% | 17.1% |
| White | 86.7% | 80.5% |
| Asian | 0.6% | 1.9% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 7.5% | 9.4% |
| Black/African American | 1.2% | 2.5% |
| Multi-race | 3.6% | 5.3% |
Homes & taxes
What could you afford in either town?
FY2026 averages for single-family homes from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue; for a district with several towns, the comparison uses the average of its towns. Assessed values usually run below recent sale prices.