Massachusetts regional school district

Tantasqua

2 high schools and 5 elementary schools in our rankings

overall grade

Students from Brimfield, Brookfield, Holland, Sturbridge and Wales attend Tantasqua schools.

Ranks #111 of 328 Massachusetts school districts — top 34%.

Overall rank

#111

of 328 districts

MCAS ELA

43%

State 41% in the same grades

MCAS Math

52%+10 vs MA

State 41% in the same grades

Spending per student

$17,662

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.

Tantasqua is a regional school district serving five towns in central Massachusetts: Brimfield, Brookfield, Holland, Sturbridge, and Wales, located in the Quaboag Valley south of Worcester. The district operates Tantasqua Regional Senior High School and Tantasqua Regional Vocational High School. Sturbridge, home to Old Sturbridge Village, a living history museum recreating a 19th-century New England town, is the largest of the member communities and sits along the Massachusetts Turnpike corridor. The district's towns are largely rural and suburban in character, with a mix of farmland, conservation land, and residential neighborhoods.

How it compares

What stands out

Strongest area: AP results, in the top 6% of districts. 94% of AP exams at its high schools scored 3 or higher, vs 69% for the average MA district.
Relative weak spot: SAT scores rank in the top 45% of districts, below its other categories.
Top school: Tantasqua Regional Sr High, #60 of 335 Massachusetts high schools.
Trend: Chronic absence has fallen from 25.2% in 2022 to 14.7% in 2025.
Trend: ELA MCAS is down 6.5 points since 2023 (49.4634% to 43.004%); statewide it fell 4.2 points.

Where it stands among Massachusetts school districts

Bottom of MATop of MA

Overall

Above averagetop 34% · #111

SAT

Averagetop 45% · #130

ELA MCAS

Averagetop 43% · #138

Math MCAS

Above averagetop 28% · #91

AP results

Excellenttop 6% · #16

Graduation

Averagetop 40% · #115

Attendance

Above averagetop 34% · #109

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 Tantasqua

High schools · ranked among 335

Tantasqua Regional Sr High

Tantasqua

B+

#60 in MASAT 1189Graduation 96%

Tantasqua Regional Vocational

Tantasqua

C+

#207 in MASAT 1067Graduation 96%

Elementary schools · ranked among 895

Burgess Elementary

Tantasqua

#232 in MAELA 56%Math 59%

Brimfield Elementary

Tantasqua

#274 in MAELA 56%Math 53%

Brookfield Elementary

Tantasqua

#331 in MAELA 55%Math 51%

Holland Elementary

Tantasqua

#347 in MAELA 45%Math 59%

Wales Elementary

Tantasqua

C+

#562 in MAELA 48%Math 38%

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 3–1043%in 2026 · state 41%

2 points above the state

Math, grades 3–1052%in 2026 · state 41%

10 points above the state

By grade, 2026 · the black tick marks the state

GradeELAMath

Grade 3

52%+9 vs state

55%+13 vs state

Grade 4

47%+10 vs state

53%+10 vs state

Grade 5

44%+6 vs state

53%+14 vs state

Grade 6

44%+4 vs state

64%+21 vs state

Grade 7

33%−7 vs state

41%+4 vs state

Grade 8

38%−4 vs state

40%−2 vs state

Grade 10

45%same as state

57%+13 vs state

Science, 2026

Grade 5 science

57%+14 vs state

Grade 8 science

43%+4 vs state

High school biology

80%+42 vs state

High school results

Average SATAbout average

This district

1128

MA avg

1113

AP exams scored 3+Better than average

This district

93.5%

MA avg

69.1%

Four-year graduation rateBetter than average

This district

96.1%

MA avg

92.4%

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

Students & classrooms

Classrooms

Students in classes1,751

Average class size13.2MA avg 17.3

Who attends

White

84.1%

Hispanic/Latino

8.7%

Multi-Race

3.8%

Asian

Black/African American

1.4%

American Indian/Alaska Native

0.1%

47.8% female · 51.9% male · 0.2% nonbinary

Student needs

English learnersLower than average

This district

0.9%

MA avg

8.5%

Students with disabilitiesLower than average

This district

13%

MA avg

20.2%

Spending & teachers

Spending per student$17.7Kin FY2024 · MA median $21.8K

$4,103 below the MA median

Teacher salary$83.7Kin 2023-24 · MA median $91.4K

$7,715 below the MA median

Teachers who stayedfrom last yearBetter than average

This district

95.3%

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 149 full-time-equivalent teachers.

Attendance

Attendance rateAbout average

This district

94.5%

MA avg

93.7%

Chronically absentmissed 10%+ of daysBetter than average

This district

14.7%

MA avg

16.9%

9.7 days absent per student (MA avg 11) · 3% missed 20% or more of school days

About the towns

Brimfield

Hampden County · Western Massachusetts

Avg single-family home value$409KMA median $588K

Avg property tax bill$5,469MA median $6,814

Tax rate$13.40 per $1,000MA median $12.40

Income per person$44,091MA median $47,872

Local kids in public school91.8%

Town bond ratingAA+

Free cash reserves10.5% of budget

Brookfield

Worcester County · Central Massachusetts

Avg single-family home value$370KMA median $588K

Avg property tax bill$5,409MA median $6,814

Tax rate$14.60 per $1,000MA median $12.40

Income per person$34,182MA median $47,872

Local kids in public school95.1%

Free cash reserves7.7% of budget

Holland

Hampden County · Western Massachusetts

Avg single-family home value$381KMA median $588K

Avg property tax bill$4,647MA median $6,814

Tax rate$12.20 per $1,000MA median $12.40

Income per person$37,526MA median $47,872

Local kids in public school87%

Free cash reserves7.1% of budget

Sturbridge

Worcester County · Central Massachusetts

Avg single-family home value$504KMA median $588K

Avg property tax bill$7,870MA median $6,814

Tax rate$15.60 per $1,000MA median $12.40

Income per person$54,558MA median $47,872

Local kids in public school94.1%

Town bond ratingAA+

Free cash reserves13.1% of budget

Wales

Hampden County · Western Massachusetts

Avg single-family home value$325KMA median $588K

Avg property tax bill$4,588MA median $6,814

Tax rate$14.10 per $1,000MA median $12.40

Income per person$29,839MA median $47,872

Local kids in public school90.2%

Where school-age children in these towns go to school · 2024-2025

Local public schools

43.7%

Regional schools

33%

Vocational schools

12.6%

Home school

5.2%

Other public schools

2.3%

Private schools

1.8%

Charter schools

1.3%

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 Tantasqua with nearby districts

Tantasqua vs Southbridge#326C- · 7 mi Tantasqua vs Monson#222C+ · 8 mi Tantasqua vs Quaboag Regional#237C · 9 mi Tantasqua vs Palmer#223C+ · 9 mi

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