Ipswich vs Rockport Schools
How the two districts, about 12 miles apart, compare on test scores, high school results, classrooms, spending and housing.
The short answer
- Overall: Ipswich ranks higher, #39 to Rockport's #104 of 328 Massachusetts districts.
- MCAS 2026: Ipswich students score higher: ELA 57% vs 39%, Math 57% vs 36% met expectations. Statewide: 41% and 41%.
- SAT: Ipswich averages 56 points higher (1201 vs 1145).
- Spending: Rockport spends $4,700 more per student ($30,152 vs $25,451).
- Homes: Homes cost more in Rockport: single-family homes average $1.01M vs $903K. The average tax bill is $9,733 in Ipswich and $8,548 in Rockport.
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 | Ipswich | Rockport | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 57% | 39% | 41% |
| 2025 | 60% | 49% | 43% |
| 2024 | 56% | 49% | 42% |
| 2023 | 59% | 53% | 45% |
| 2022 | 58% | 47% | 44% |
| 2021 | 60% | 51% | 49% |
| Year | Ipswich | Rockport | State |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 57% | 36% | 41% |
| 2025 | 56% | 44% | 41% |
| 2024 | 57% | 39% | 42% |
| 2023 | 54% | 43% | 42% |
| 2022 | 54% | 39% | 41% |
| 2021 | 41% | 32% | 36% |
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
| Ipswich | Rockport | |
|---|---|---|
| Students in classes | 1,567 | 640 |
| English learners | 3.6% | 1.1% |
| Students with disabilities | 20.9% | 21.7% |
| White | 82.8% | 89.2% |
| Asian | 1.5% | 1.4% |
| Hispanic/Latino | 9.3% | 4.8% |
| Black/African American | 1.4% | 1.1% |
| Multi-race | 4.7% | 3.2% |
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.