Worcester
6 high schools and 33 elementary schools in our rankings · serves Worcester
Ranks #249 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.
Worcester is the second-largest city in Massachusetts, located about 40 miles west of Boston and serving as the seat of Worcester County. The Worcester Public Schools district operates six high schools, including University Park Campus School, Doherty Memorial, South High Community, Worcester Technical High, Burncoat Senior High, and North High, reflecting a wide range of academic and vocational pathways. The city is home to several colleges and universities, including Clark University, the College of the Holy Cross, and WPI, giving it a strong higher-education character. Worcester's history as an industrial center is reflected in its manufacturing heritage, and it is also home to the Worcester Art Museum, one of the older public art museums in New England.
How it compares
- Best of its categories: SAT scores, in the bottom 29% of districts. Its high schools average 1076 on the SAT, vs 1113 for the average MA district.
- Area to watch: Math MCAS ranks in the bottom 14% of districts.
- Top school: West Tatnuck, #195 of 895 Massachusetts elementary schools.
- Trend: Chronic absence has fallen from 30.1% in 2022 to 25.3% in 2025.
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 Worcester
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
48.3% female · 51.6% male
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 2,043 full-time-equivalent teachers.
Attendance
13.7 days absent per student (MA avg 11) · 7.8% missed 20% or more of school days
About Worcester
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 Worcester with nearby districts
Side by side: test scores, spending, class size, home values and taxes. Distance is between district centers. Compare with any district