Methuen
1 high school and 4 elementary schools in our rankings · serves Methuen
Ranks #216 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.
Methuen is a city in the Merrimack Valley of northeastern Massachusetts, located roughly 30 miles north of Boston along the New Hampshire border. The Methuen Public Schools district serves the city and is anchored by Methuen High School. The city is a mix of residential neighborhoods and commercial areas, with the Merrimack River running along its border with Lawrence. Methuen was named after Methuen, Scotland, and its historic mill buildings reflect its industrial past along the river.
How it compares
- Best of its categories: AP results, in the bottom 40% of districts. 68% of AP exams at its high schools scored 3 or higher, vs 69% for the average MA district.
- Area to watch: Math MCAS ranks in the bottom 8% of districts.
- Trend: Chronic absence has fallen from 34.6% in 2022 to 23.9% in 2025.
- Trend: ELA MCAS is down 5.3 points since 2023 (34.3978% to 29.0506%); 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 Methuen
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 (Methuen High). "MA avg" is the average of all Massachusetts districts with high school data.
Students & classrooms
48.2% female · 51.8% 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 541 full-time-equivalent teachers.
Attendance
13.3 days absent per student (MA avg 11) · 7.5% missed 20% or more of school days
About Methuen
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 Methuen with nearby districts
Side by side: test scores, spending, class size, home values and taxes. Distance is between district centers. Compare with any district