Holyoke vs Westfield Schools
How the two districts, about 8 miles apart, compare on test scores, high school results, classrooms, spending and housing.
The short answer
- Overall: Westfield ranks higher, #220 to Holyoke's #313 of 328 Massachusetts districts.
- MCAS 2026: Westfield students score higher: ELA 33% vs 12%, Math 34% vs 7% met expectations. Statewide: 41% and 41%.
- SAT: Westfield averages 80 points higher (1071 vs 991).
- Spending: Holyoke spends $4,637 more per student ($24,807 vs $20,170).
- Homes: Homes cost more in Westfield: single-family homes average $388K vs $305K. The average tax bill is $5,319 in Holyoke and $5,787 in Westfield.
MCAS results, 2026
Share of students meeting or exceeding expectations, all tested grades combined. Both districts test grades 3–10; "State" is the statewide figure for the same grades.
| Year | Holyoke | Westfield | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 12% | 33% | 41% |
| 2025 | 13% | 35% | 43% |
| 2024 | 10% | 36% | 42% |
| 2023 | 12% | 39% | 45% |
| 2022 | 12% | 37% | 43% |
| 2021 | 14% | 45% | 48% |
| Year | Holyoke | Westfield | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 7% | 34% | 41% |
| 2025 | 7% | 33% | 41% |
| 2024 | 7% | 34% | 42% |
| 2023 | 7% | 33% | 42% |
| 2022 | 7% | 30% | 40% |
| 2021 | 5% | 29% | 35% |
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
| Holyoke | Westfield | |
|---|---|---|
| Students in classes | 4,960 | 4,836 |
| English learners | 20% | 9.2% |
| Students with disabilities | 31.4% | 25.7% |
| White | 10% | 70.2% |
| Asian | 0.7% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 81.6% | 20% |
| Black/African American | 5.8% | 2.1% |
| Multi-race | 1.7% | 4.6% |
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.