Athol-Royalston vs New Salem-Wendell Schools
How the two districts, about 12 miles apart, compare on test scores, high school results, classrooms, spending and housing.
The short answer
- Overall: New Salem-Wendell ranks higher, #269 to Athol-Royalston's #302 of 328 Massachusetts districts.
- MCAS 2026: New Salem-Wendell students score higher: ELA 28% vs 21%, Math 29% vs 20% met expectations.
- High school: New Salem-Wendell has no high school in our rankings (its students may attend a regional high school), so only Athol-Royalston has SAT and graduation figures (SAT average 964).
- Spending: New Salem-Wendell spends $7,320 more per student ($26,209 vs $18,890).
- Homes: Homes cost more in New Salem-Wendell: single-family homes average $364K vs $326K. The average tax bill is $3,716 in Athol-Royalston and $4,951 in New Salem-Wendell.
MCAS results, 2026
Share of students meeting or exceeding expectations, all tested grades combined. The districts serve different grades (Athol-Royalston: grades 3–10; New Salem-Wendell: grades 3–6), so the state figure isn't shown.
| Year | Athol-Royalston | New Salem-Wendell |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 21% | 28% |
| 2025 | 21% | 29% |
| 2024 | 23% | 27% |
| 2023 | 26% | 27% |
| 2022 | 25% | 31% |
| 2021 | 33% | 47% |
| Year | Athol-Royalston | New Salem-Wendell |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 20% | 29% |
| 2025 | 20% | 26% |
| 2024 | 19% | 33% |
| 2023 | 22% | 35% |
| 2022 | 26% | 34% |
| 2021 | 22% | — |
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
| Athol-Royalston | New Salem-Wendell | |
|---|---|---|
| Students in classes | 1,591 | 136 |
| English learners | 4.3% | 0% |
| Students with disabilities | 26.1% | 23.5% |
| White | 74.7% | 85.7% |
| Asian | 1% | 0.7% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 17.3% | 5.7% |
| Black/African American | 2.5% | 0% |
| Multi-race | 4.5% | 7.9% |
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.