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Massachusetts public school district

Palmer

1 elementary school in our rankings · serves Palmer

C+
overall grade

Ranks #223 of 328 Massachusetts school districts.

Overall rank
#223
of 328 districts
MCAS ELA
22%
State 40% in the same grades
MCAS Math
28%
State 41% in the same grades
Spending per student
$23,575
MA median $21,765

MCAS is the share of students meeting or exceeding expectations in 2026, grades 3–10 combined. Spending is total per-pupil expenditure in FY2024.

Palmer is a town in Hampden County, located in the Pioneer Valley region of central Massachusetts, roughly 25 miles east of Springfield. The town sits at the confluence of the Chicopee and Ware Rivers, an area historically shaped by mill and railroad development in the nineteenth century. Palmer is home to the Palmer Historical Society and the nearby Quaboag Valley, and its character blends small-town residential neighborhoods with commercial and light industrial areas along major transportation corridors. The district's data profile below reflects single-family property values and income figures relative to other Massachusetts communities.

How it compares

What stands out
  • Strongest area: Attendance, in the top 43% of districts. Students attend 93.7% of school days, vs 93.7% for the average MA district.
  • Area to watch: ELA MCAS ranks in the bottom 19% of districts.
  • Trend: Chronic absence has fallen from 29.1% in 2022 to 16.8% in 2025.
  • Trend: ELA MCAS is down 11.5 points since 2023 (33.7525% to 22.2408%); statewide it fell 3.8 points.
Where it stands among Massachusetts school districts
Bottom of MATop of MA
Overall
Below averagebottom 33% · #223
ELA MCAS
Below averagebottom 19% · #268
Math MCAS
Below averagebottom 20% · #264
Attendance
Averagetop 43% · #141

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 Palmer

Elementary schools · ranked among 895
Old Mill Pond
Palmer
C+
#557 in MAELA 29%Math 33%

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 3–1022%in 2026 · state 40%
18 points below the state
0%50%100%This district22%State40%2019202120232026
Math, grades 3–1028%in 2026 · state 41%
13 points below the state
0%50%100%This district28%State41%2019202120232026
By grade, 2026 · the black tick marks the state
GradeELAMath
Grade 3
29%−14 vs state
27%−15 vs state
Grade 4
26%−11 vs state
26%−17 vs state
Grade 5
16%−22 vs state
30%−9 vs state
Grade 6
17%−23 vs state
22%−21 vs state
Grade 7
21%−19 vs state
34%−3 vs state
Grade 8
23%−19 vs state
29%−13 vs state
Grade 10
26%−19 vs state
32%−12 vs state
Science, 2026
Grade 5 science
45%+2 vs state
Grade 8 science
22%−17 vs state

Students & classrooms

Classrooms
Students in classes1,118
Average class size16.5MA avg 17.3
Who attends
White
72.3%
Hispanic/Latino
19%
Multi-Race
4.8%
Black/African American
2.1%
Asian
1.9%

49.3% female · 50.7% male

Student needs
English learnersLower than average
This district
4.5%
MA avg
8.5%
Students with disabilitiesAbout average
This district
19.6%
MA avg
20.2%

Spending & teachers

Spending per student$23.6Kin FY2024 · MA median $21.8K
$1,810 above the MA median
$0K$13K$25KThis district$23.6KMA median$21.8K20162018202020222024
Teacher salary$80.3Kin 2023-24 · MA median $91.4K
$11,116 below the MA median
$0K$48K$95KThis district$80.3KMA median$91.4K20162018202020222024
Teachers who stayedfrom last yearAbout average
This district
83.7%
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 103 full-time-equivalent teachers.

Attendance

Attendance rateAbout average
This district
93.7%
MA avg
93.7%
Chronically absentmissed 10%+ of daysAbout average
This district
16.8%
MA avg
16.9%

10.5 days absent per student (MA avg 11) · 5.2% missed 20% or more of school days

About Palmer

Hampden County · Western Massachusetts
Avg single-family home value$301KMA median $588K
Avg property tax bill$5,014MA median $6,814
Tax rate$16.70 per $1,000MA median $12.40
Income per person$30,774MA median $47,872
Local kids in public school94.1%
Free cash reserves10.3% of budget
Where school-age children in Palmer go to school · 2024-2025
Local public schools
70.1%
Vocational schools
12.9%
Other public schools
8.8%
Home school
3%
Private schools
2.8%
Charter schools
2.2%

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 Palmer with nearby districts

Palmer vs Ware#245C · 6 miPalmer vs Monson#222C+ · 7 miPalmer vs Quaboag Regional#237C · 7 miPalmer vs Ludlow#190C+ · 8 miPalmer vs Belchertown#119B · 8 miPalmer vs Tantasqua#111B · 9 miPalmer vs Chicopee#238C · 14 mi

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