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Massachusetts public school district

Acushnet

1 elementary school in our rankings · serves Acushnet

B+
overall grade

Ranks #78 of 328 Massachusetts school districts — top 24%.

Overall rank
#78
of 328 districts
MCAS ELA
43%
State 40% in the same grades
MCAS Math
46%
State 41% in the same grades
Spending per student
$16,083
MA median $21,765

MCAS is the share of students meeting or exceeding expectations in 2026, grades 3–8 combined. Spending is total per-pupil expenditure in FY2024.

Acushnet is a small town in Bristol County on Massachusetts's South Coast, located just west of New Bedford and near the Acushnet River that flows into Buzzards Bay. The town's Acushnet Public Schools serve students across its elementary and middle grades, with high school students typically attending schools in neighboring communities. Acushnet is primarily residential and rural in character, with farmland, woodlands, and cranberry bogs reflecting the region's agricultural heritage. The town was originally part of Dartmouth before being incorporated as a separate community in 1860.

How it compares

What stands out
  • Strongest area: Attendance, in the top 17% of districts. Students attend 95.3% of school days, vs 93.7% for the average MA district.
  • Trend: Chronic absence has fallen from 15.9% in 2022 to 9.6% in 2025.
  • Trend: Math MCAS is down 5 points since 2023 (51.3919% to 46.4142%).
Where it stands among Massachusetts school districts
Bottom of MATop of MA
Overall
Above averagetop 24% · #78
ELA MCAS
Above averagetop 35% · #111
Math MCAS
Above averagetop 22% · #69
Attendance
Above averagetop 17% · #55

A district's overall rank is the average statewide percentile of its ranked schools, with a 10% discount for single-school districts. Category standings compare the average of each district's ranked schools and count only districts with data. How we rank

Schools in Acushnet

Elementary schools · ranked among 895
Acushnet Elementary School
Acushnet
B+
#168 in MAELA 61%Math 61%

We rank high schools that report SAT results and elementary schools with grade 3 MCAS results, so some of the district's schools (middle schools, for example) aren't listed. Elementary ELA and Math are 2024–2026 averages of grade 3 results.

MCAS results

Share of students meeting or exceeding expectations, compared with the state. Statewide 10th-grade results dropped after 2024, when passing the MCAS stopped being a graduation requirement. There was no test in 2020.

English Language Arts, grades 3–843%in 2026 · state 40%
3 points above the state
0%50%100%This district43%State40%20182019202120232026
Math, grades 3–846%in 2026 · state 41%
6 points above the state
0%50%100%This district46%State41%20182019202120232026
By grade, 2026 · the black tick marks the state
GradeELAMath
Grade 3
53%+10 vs state
59%+17 vs state
Grade 4
66%+29 vs state
57%+14 vs state
Grade 5
41%+3 vs state
46%+7 vs state
Grade 6
24%−16 vs state
48%+5 vs state
Grade 7
40%same as state
35%−2 vs state
Grade 8
35%−7 vs state
38%−4 vs state
Science, 2026
Grade 5 science
39%−4 vs state
Grade 8 science
25%−14 vs state

Students & classrooms

Classrooms
Students in classes926
Average class size18.9MA avg 17.3
Who attends
White
86.7%
Hispanic/Latino
7.5%
Multi-Race
3.6%
Black/African American
1.2%
Asian
0.6%
American Indian/Alaska Native
0.4%

44.8% female · 55.2% male

Student needs
English learnersLower than average
This district
0.3%
MA avg
8.5%
Students with disabilitiesLower than average
This district
17.3%
MA avg
20.2%

Spending & teachers

Spending per student$16.1Kin FY2024 · MA median $21.8K
$5,682 below the MA median
$0K$13K$25KThis district$16.1KMA median$21.8K20162018202020222024
Teacher salary$77.7Kin 2023-24 · MA median $91.4K
$13,739 below the MA median
$0K$48K$95KThis district$77.7KMA median$91.4K20162018202020222024
Teachers who stayedfrom last yearBetter than average
This district
90.7%
MA avg
84.7%
Principals who stayedfrom last yearBetter than average
This district
100%
MA avg
82%

Spending is total per-pupil expenditure from all sources. Dollar figures aren't adjusted for inflation. "MA median" is the middle district in each year; small districts can spend far more per student, so the median is a fairer yardstick than the average. Salary is the average across 75 full-time-equivalent teachers.

Attendance

Attendance rateBetter than average
This district
95.3%
MA avg
93.7%
Chronically absentmissed 10%+ of daysBetter than average
This district
9.6%
MA avg
16.9%

8.4 days absent per student (MA avg 11) · 0.5% missed 20% or more of school days

About Acushnet

Bristol County · South Coast & Cape Cod
Avg single-family home value$502KMA median $588K
Avg property tax bill$5,244MA median $6,814
Tax rate$10.50 per $1,000MA median $12.40
Income per person$42,796MA median $47,872
Local kids in public school92.7%
Town bond ratingAA+
Free cash reserves4.6% of budget
Where school-age children in Acushnet go to school · 2024-2025
Local public schools
59.8%
Other public schools
19.5%
Vocational schools
13.1%
Private schools
5.4%
Home school
1.9%
Charter schools
0.2%

What could you afford here? · All towns A–Z

Town figures are FY2026 averages for single-family homes from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Assessed values usually run below recent sale prices. "MA median" is the median of the state's 351 towns.

Compare Acushnet with nearby districts

Acushnet vs New Bedford#258C · 4 miAcushnet vs Old Rochester#82B+ · 5 miAcushnet vs Fairhaven#124B · 6 miAcushnet vs Freetown-Lakeville#86B · 8 miAcushnet vs Dartmouth#116B · 11 mi

Side by side: test scores, spending, class size, home values and taxes. Distance is between district centers. Compare with any district