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Massachusetts public school district

Saugus

1 high school and 1 elementary school in our rankings · serves Saugus

C+
overall grade

Ranks #207 of 328 Massachusetts school districts.

Overall rank
#207
of 328 districts
MCAS ELA
27%
State 41% in the same grades
MCAS Math
32%
State 41% in the same grades
Spending per student
$18,547
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.

Saugus is a suburban town on the North Shore of Massachusetts, about 10 miles north of Boston along the Route 1 corridor. The Saugus Public Schools serve the town's students through a single high school, Saugus High School. Saugus sits along the Saugus River and the Lynn Woods Reservation borders part of the town, offering extensive hiking trails and open space. The town was settled in the 1630s and is part of the Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site, one of the earliest iron-making sites in North America.

How it compares

What stands out
  • Best of its categories: SAT scores, in the bottom 40% of districts. Its high schools average 1100 on the SAT, vs 1113 for the average MA district.
  • Area to watch: Attendance ranks in the bottom 4% of districts.
  • Trend: Chronic absence has fallen from 36.8% in 2022 to 29.6% in 2025.
  • Trend: ELA MCAS is down 6.3 points since 2023 (33.2999% to 27.0309%); statewide it fell 3.8 points.
Where it stands among Massachusetts school districts
Bottom of MATop of MA
Overall
Averagebottom 38% · #207
SAT
Averagebottom 40% · #175
ELA MCAS
Below averagebottom 23% · #253
Math MCAS
Below averagebottom 27% · #240
AP results
Below averagebottom 20% · #224
Graduation
Below averagebottom 16% · #244
Attendance
Well below averagebottom 4% · #316

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 Saugus

High schools · ranked among 335
Saugus High
Saugus
C+
#227 in MASAT 1100Graduation 87%
Elementary schools · ranked among 895
Belmonte STEAM Academy
Saugus
B-
#483 in MAELA 35%Math 41%

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 3–1027%in 2026 · state 41%
14 points below the state
0%50%100%This district27%State41%2019202120232026
Math, grades 3–1032%in 2026 · state 41%
9 points below the state
0%50%100%This district32%State41%2019202120232026
By grade, 2026 · the black tick marks the state
GradeELAMath
Grade 3
36%−7 vs state
31%−11 vs state
Grade 4
29%−8 vs state
35%−8 vs state
Grade 5
25%−13 vs state
33%−6 vs state
Grade 6
24%−16 vs state
27%−16 vs state
Grade 7
20%−20 vs state
17%−20 vs state
Grade 8
28%−14 vs state
52%+10 vs state
Grade 10
27%−18 vs state
29%−15 vs state
Science, 2026
Grade 5 science
30%−13 vs state
Grade 8 science
35%−4 vs state
High school biology
49%+11 vs state

High school results

Average SATAbout average
This district
1100
MA avg
1113
AP exams scored 3+Worse than average
This district
53.3%
MA avg
69.1%
Four-year graduation rateWorse than average
This district
86.5%
MA avg
92.4%

Averages of the district's ranked high schools (Saugus High). "MA avg" is the average of all Massachusetts districts with high school data.

Students & classrooms

Classrooms
Students in classes2,718
Average class size19.1MA avg 17.3
Who attends
White
46.3%
Hispanic/Latino
35%
Asian
7.8%
Black/African American
7%
Multi-Race
3.3%
American Indian/Alaska Native
0.5%
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
0.1%

47.2% female · 52.7% male · 0.1% nonbinary

Student needs
English learnersHigher than average
This district
14.1%
MA avg
8.5%
Students with disabilitiesAbout average
This district
19.7%
MA avg
20.2%

Spending & teachers

Spending per student$18.5Kin FY2024 · MA median $21.8K
$3,218 below the MA median
$0K$13K$25KThis district$18.5KMA median$21.8K20162018202020222024
Teacher salary$89.8Kin 2023-24 · MA median $91.4K
$1,615 below the MA median
$0K$55K$110KThis district$89.8KMA median$91.4K20162018202020222024
Teachers who stayedfrom last yearAbout average
This district
84.5%
MA avg
84.7%
Principals who stayedfrom last yearWorse than average
This district
50%
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 181 full-time-equivalent teachers.

Attendance

Attendance rateWorse than average
This district
91.3%
MA avg
93.7%
Chronically absentmissed 10%+ of daysWorse than average
This district
29.6%
MA avg
16.9%

15.1 days absent per student (MA avg 11) · 8.1% missed 20% or more of school days

About Saugus

Essex County · Greater Boston — Inside I-95
Avg single-family home value$684KMA median $588K
Avg property tax bill$7,126MA median $6,814
Tax rate$10.40 per $1,000MA median $12.40
Income per person$44,958MA median $47,872
Local kids in public school85.4%
Town bond ratingAA+
Free cash reserves15.4% of budget
Where school-age children in Saugus go to school · 2024-2025
Local public schools
70%
Private schools
13.1%
Charter schools
8.7%
Vocational schools
3.9%
Other public schools
2.7%
Home school
1.5%

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 Saugus with nearby districts

Saugus vs Melrose#24A · 3 miSaugus vs Lynn#297C- · 3 miSaugus vs Malden#175B- · 4 miSaugus vs Revere#217C+ · 4 miSaugus vs Peabody#230C · 5 miSaugus vs Salem#234C · 6 miSaugus vs Winthrop#226C+ · 7 miSaugus vs Woburn#179B- · 7 miSaugus vs Waltham#204C+ · 13 mi

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