North Reading
1 high school and 3 elementary schools in our rankings · serves North Reading
Ranks #34 of 328 Massachusetts school districts — top 11%.
MCAS is the share of students meeting or exceeding expectations in 2026, grades 3–10 combined. Spending is total per-pupil expenditure in FY2024.
North Reading is a suburban town located roughly 15 miles north of Boston in Middlesex County, and its public school district serves the town's students through North Reading High School. The town is part of the Merrimack Valley region, with a mix of residential neighborhoods, open space, and commercial areas along its main corridors. North Reading is notable for its above-median single-family assessed home values and per capita income that places it among the more affluent communities in Massachusetts. The town was incorporated in 1853 after separating from neighboring Reading, and its Harold Parker State Forest borders part of the community, offering extensive hiking and recreation areas.
How it compares
- Strongest area: Attendance, in the top 10% of districts. Students attend 95.4% of school days, vs 93.7% for the average MA district.
- Relative weak spot: Graduation rate ranks in the top 40% of districts, below its other categories.
- Top school: L D Batchelder, #16 of 895 Massachusetts elementary schools.
- Trend: Chronic absence has fallen from 14.5% in 2022 to 6.2% 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 North Reading
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 (North Reading High). "MA avg" is the average of all Massachusetts districts with high school data.
Students & classrooms
49% female · 51% 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 208 full-time-equivalent teachers.
Attendance
8.2 days absent per student (MA avg 11) · 1% missed 20% or more of school days
About North Reading
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 North Reading with nearby districts
Side by side: test scores, spending, class size, home values and taxes. Distance is between district centers. Compare with any district