Athol-Royalston
1 high school and 2 elementary schools in our rankings
Students from Athol and Royalston attend Athol-Royalston schools, including Athol High School.
Ranks #302 of 328 Massachusetts school districts.
MCAS is the share of students meeting or exceeding expectations in 2026, grades 3–10 combined. Spending is total per-pupil expenditure in FY2024.
Athol-Royalston Regional School District serves the towns of Athol and Royalston in north-central Massachusetts, in the North Quabbin region of Worcester County. Athol lies along the Millers River in the hills of northern Worcester County, roughly 20 miles north of Worcester, while Royalston sits to its southeast in a largely rural landscape of farmland and forest. The area is known for its outdoor recreation, including the nearby Tully Lake and the Lake Dunmore region, as well as its small-town character. Athol was the birthplace of Algonquin-era settlement history and later became known as a manufacturing center, most notably for the Starrett company's precision tools, which has long been associated with the town.
How it compares
- Best of its categories: Attendance, in the bottom 22% of districts. Students attend 92.1% of school days, vs 93.7% for the average MA district.
- Area to watch: Math MCAS ranks in the bottom 6% of districts.
- Trend: Chronic absence has fallen from 42.8% in 2022 to 25.7% in 2025.
- Trend: ELA MCAS is down 5.4 points since 2023 (26.3556% to 20.9975%); statewide it fell 3.8 points.
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 Athol-Royalston
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.
High school results
Averages of the district's ranked high schools (Athol High). "MA avg" is the average of all Massachusetts districts with high school data.
Students & classrooms
46.2% female · 53.8% male
Spending & teachers
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 125 full-time-equivalent teachers.
Attendance
13.7 days absent per student (MA avg 11) · 7.2% missed 20% or more of school days
About the towns
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 Athol-Royalston with nearby districts
Side by side: test scores, spending, class size, home values and taxes. Distance is between district centers. Compare with any district