Pittsfield
2 high schools and 8 elementary schools in our rankings · serves Pittsfield
Ranks #191 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.
Pittsfield is a city in Berkshire County in western Massachusetts, serving as the county seat and the largest community in the Berkshires. The Pittsfield Public Schools district serves the city and operates two public high schools, Pittsfield High School and Taconic High School. The city's economy has historically been shaped by manufacturing, and it is home to the Berkshire Museum and the Hancock Shaker Village, located nearby in Hancock. Pittsfield is also known as the place where Herman Melville lived and wrote parts of "Moby-Dick" at his farm, Arrowhead, which is now a museum.
How it compares
- Best of its categories: Math MCAS, in the bottom 26% of districts. 21% of students in grades 3–10 met or exceeded expectations in 2026, vs 42% statewide in the same grades.
- Area to watch: Attendance ranks in the bottom 5% of districts.
- Top school: Williams, #114 of 895 Massachusetts elementary schools.
- Trend: MCAS results and attendance have held steady over the past three years.
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 Pittsfield
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
47.5% female · 52.2% male · 0.2% 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 514 full-time-equivalent teachers.
Attendance
19.1 days absent per student (MA avg 11) · 16% missed 20% or more of school days
About Pittsfield
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 Pittsfield with nearby districts
Side by side: test scores, spending, class size, home values and taxes. Distance is between district centers. Compare with any district