Massachusetts regional school district

Southern Berkshire

1 high school and 1 elementary school in our rankings

C+

overall grade

Students from Alford, Egremont, Monterey, New Marlborough and Sheffield attend Southern Berkshire schools, including Mt Everett Regional.

Ranks #182 of 328 Massachusetts school districts.

Overall rank

#182

of 328 districts

MCAS ELA

40%

State 40% in the same grades

MCAS Math

41%

State 41% in the same grades

Spending per student

$28,410

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.

Southern Berkshire Regional School District serves five small towns in the southern Berkshires of western Massachusetts: Alford, Egremont, Monterey, New Marlborough, and Sheffield. The area is rural and hilly, with farmland, forests, and scattered villages, and the district's high school is Mt Everett Regional in Sheffield. Alford stands out among the five towns for its high single-family assessed values, which are among the highest in the district and reflect its appeal to buyers seeking large properties. The region is known for the Berkshire Hills and for Monterey's connections to the Jacob's Pillow dance center and the nearby Tanglewood music festival in Lenox. Several of the towns are also home to extensive conservation land, including areas along the Housatonic River corridor.

How it compares

What stands out

Best of its categories: ELA MCAS, in the bottom 48% of districts. 40% of students in grades 3–10 met or exceeded expectations in 2026, vs 40% statewide in the same grades.
Area to watch: Attendance ranks in the bottom 11% of districts.
Trend: Chronic absence has fallen from 31.6% in 2022 to 24.8% in 2025.

Where it stands among Massachusetts school districts

Bottom of MATop of MA

Overall

Averagebottom 45% · #182

SAT

Averagebottom 43% · #169

ELA MCAS

Averagebottom 48% · #171

Math MCAS

Below averagebottom 34% · #217

AP results

Averagebottom 46% · #153

Graduation

Below averagebottom 21% · #230

Attendance

Below averagebottom 11% · #295

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 Southern Berkshire

High schools · ranked among 335

Mt Everett Regional

Southern Berkshire

C+

#195 in MASAT 1104Graduation 88%

Elementary schools · ranked among 895

Undermountain

Southern Berkshire

B-

#464 in MAELA 43%Math 46%

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 3–1040%in 2026 · state 40%

Same as the state

Math, grades 3–1041%in 2026 · state 41%

1 point below the state

By grade, 2026 · the black tick marks the state

GradeELAMath

Grade 3

66%+23 vs state

53%+11 vs state

Grade 4

31%−6 vs state

37%−6 vs state

Grade 5

44%+6 vs state

44%+5 vs state

Grade 6

33%−7 vs state

33%−10 vs state

Grade 7

37%−3 vs state

48%+11 vs state

Grade 8

47%+5 vs state

38%−4 vs state

Grade 10

30%−15 vs state

32%−12 vs state

Science, 2026

Grade 5 science

49%+6 vs state

Grade 8 science

42%+3 vs state

High school biology

56%+18 vs state

High school results

Average SATAbout average

This district

1104

MA avg

1113

AP exams scored 3+About average

This district

71.9%

MA avg

69.1%

Four-year graduation rateWorse than average

This district

87.9%

MA avg

92.4%

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

Students & classrooms

Classrooms

Students in classes611

Average class size13.1MA avg 17.3

Who attends

White

81.3%

Hispanic/Latino

11.1%

Multi-Race

5.4%

Black/African American

Asian

0.8%

American Indian/Alaska Native

0.3%

51.9% female · 47.9% male · 0.2% nonbinary

Student needs

English learnersLower than average

This district

4.1%

MA avg

8.5%

Students with disabilitiesLower than average

This district

16.7%

MA avg

20.2%

Spending & teachers

Spending per student$28.4Kin FY2024 · MA median $21.8K

$6,646 above the MA median

Teacher salary$62.0Kin 2023-24 · MA median $91.4K

$29,363 below the MA median

Teachers who stayedfrom last yearBetter than average

This district

91.3%

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 77 full-time-equivalent teachers.

Attendance

Attendance rateWorse than average

This district

91.9%

MA avg

93.7%

Chronically absentmissed 10%+ of daysWorse than average

This district

24.8%

MA avg

16.9%

14.2 days absent per student (MA avg 11) · 6.2% missed 20% or more of school days

About the towns

Alford

Berkshire County · Western Massachusetts

Avg single-family home value$1.28MMA median $588K

Avg property tax bill$5,191MA median $6,814

Tax rate$4.10 per $1,000MA median $12.40

Income per person$46,553MA median $47,872

Free cash reserves21.3% of budget

Egremont

Berkshire County · Western Massachusetts

Avg single-family home value$847KMA median $588K

Avg property tax bill$5,573MA median $6,814

Tax rate$6.60 per $1,000MA median $12.40

Income per person$44,463MA median $47,872

Town bond ratingAA+

Free cash reserves8.8% of budget

Monterey

Berkshire County · Western Massachusetts

Avg single-family home value$805KMA median $588K

Avg property tax bill$5,815MA median $6,814

Tax rate$7.20 per $1,000MA median $12.40

Income per person$54,210MA median $47,872

Free cash reserves6.1% of budget

New Marlborough

Berkshire County · Western Massachusetts

Avg single-family home value$700KMA median $588K

Avg property tax bill$5,050MA median $6,814

Tax rate$7.20 per $1,000MA median $12.40

Income per person$44,426MA median $47,872

Sheffield

Berkshire County · Western Massachusetts

Avg single-family home value$491KMA median $588K

Avg property tax bill$5,809MA median $6,814

Tax rate$11.80 per $1,000MA median $12.40

Income per person$46,979MA median $47,872

Free cash reserves17.1% of budget

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 Southern Berkshire with nearby districts

Southern Berkshire vs Berkshire Hills#123B · 8 mi Southern Berkshire vs Lee#127B · 11 mi Southern Berkshire vs Farmington River Reg#261C · 12 mi Southern Berkshire vs Lenox#60B+ · 15 mi

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