Boston
23 high schools and 67 elementary schools in our rankings · serves Boston
Ranks #246 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.
Boston is the state capital and largest city in Massachusetts, serving as the anchor of the Boston Public Schools district, the state's largest public school system. The district operates a wide range of high schools, from selective exam schools such as Boston Latin School and the O'Bryant School of Math & Science to career-focused programs like Madison Park Technical Vocational High School and specialized options such as Boston Arts Academy and TechBoston Academy. Boston's neighborhoods vary considerably in character, from the historic streets of Charlestown and the waterfront of East Boston to the residential areas of Brighton and Roslindale. The city's average single-family assessed value and per capita income are well above the state average, reflecting its role as a major economic and academic center. Boston is also home to Boston Latin School, founded in 1635 and the oldest public school in the United States.
How it compares
- Best of its categories: Math MCAS, in the bottom 21% of districts. 30% of students in grades 3–10 met or exceeded expectations in 2026, vs 41% statewide in the same grades.
- Area to watch: Attendance ranks in the bottom 5% of districts.
- Top school: Eliot K-8 Innovation School, #27 of 895 Massachusetts elementary schools.
- Trend: Chronic absence has fallen from 42.2% in 2022 to 33% in 2025.
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 Boston
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. "MA avg" is the average of all Massachusetts districts with high school data.
Students & classrooms
47.7% female · 52.3% male · 0.1% nonbinary
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 4,385 full-time-equivalent teachers.
Attendance
17.2 days absent per student (MA avg 11) · 12.3% missed 20% or more of school days
About Boston
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 Boston with nearby districts
Side by side: test scores, spending, class size, home values and taxes. Distance is between district centers. Compare with any district