Acushnet vs New Bedford Schools
How the two districts, about 4 miles apart, compare on test scores, high school results, classrooms, spending and housing.
The short answer
- Overall: Acushnet ranks higher, #78 to New Bedford's #258 of 328 Massachusetts districts.
- MCAS 2026: Acushnet students score higher: ELA 43% vs 19%, Math 46% vs 19% met expectations.
- High school: Acushnet has no high school in our rankings (its students may attend a regional high school), so only New Bedford has SAT and graduation figures (SAT average 1056).
- Spending: New Bedford spends $7,014 more per student ($23,096 vs $16,083).
- Homes: Homes cost more in Acushnet: single-family homes average $502K vs $425K. The average tax bill is $5,244 in Acushnet and $4,653 in New Bedford.
MCAS results, 2026
Share of students meeting or exceeding expectations, all tested grades combined. The districts serve different grades (Acushnet: grades 3–8; New Bedford: grades 3–10), so the state figure isn't shown.
| Year | Acushnet | New Bedford |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 43% | 19% |
| 2025 | 49% | 22% |
| 2024 | 50% | 21% |
| 2023 | 50% | 24% |
| 2022 | 48% | 24% |
| 2021 | 51% | 28% |
| Year | Acushnet | New Bedford |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 46% | 19% |
| 2025 | 48% | 19% |
| 2024 | 53% | 19% |
| 2023 | 51% | 21% |
| 2022 | 51% | 21% |
| 2021 | 42% | 17% |
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 | New Bedford | |
|---|---|---|
| Students in classes | 926 | 12,851 |
| English learners | 0.3% | 27.2% |
| Students with disabilities | 17.3% | 24.6% |
| White | 86.7% | 31% |
| Asian | 0.6% | 0.7% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 7.5% | 45.7% |
| Black/African American | 1.2% | 16.5% |
| Multi-race | 3.6% | 5.8% |
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.