The Melrose district in is the most improved school district in Greater Boston, according to a new analysis from Trulia.
In a partnership with SchoolDigger.com, Trulia analyzed test scores from the past five years to find which local school districts vaulted the most in regional rankings (the study focused on districts with three or more schools and more than 1,000 students).
By those measurements, Melrose came out on top. From 2011 to 2015, the district rose 17 spots in Greater Boston district rankings, climbing from 34 to 17. Tewksbury came in at second, rising 12 spots all the way to No. 12.
See our chart below to see what other districts have risen in the rankings:
| District | 2011 Rank | 2015 Rank | Change in Rank | Median Home Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Melrose | 34 | 17 | 17 | $479,900 |
| Tewksbury | 40 | 28 | 12 | $349,900 |
| Milton | 15 | 5 | 10 | $629,900 |
| North Reading | 20 | 10 | 10 | $465,000 |
| Swampscott | 24 | 16 | 8 | $480,519 |
| Foxborough | 17 | 11 | 6 | $389,473 |
| Hanover | 18 | 12 | 6 | $485,127 |
| Stoughton | 30 | 24 | 6 | $299,999 |
| Arlington | 17 | 11 | 6 | $599,000 |
| North Andover | 31 | 25 | 6 | $408,543 |
| Somerville | 59 | 53 | 6 | $699,045 |
How many school districts in total were compared? Is there a list published ? Did they only use test scores ?
Thanks for your question, Pat! As we detail in the article, Trulia partnered with SchoolDigger.com, which compared test scores in all of Greater Boston’s school districts from the past five years. It seems they did NOT use teacher scores, parent evaluations, and other data points that, say, Niche uses in its rankings.
Well, we can assume there are 59 or more school districts by this chart.
Not good news for Melrose High School. http://www.schooldigger.com/go/MA/schoolrank.aspx?level=3
Ranked 122 and a 13 decrease in scores from 2014 to 2015. In general, this article seems strange. Are these numbers validated with DESE? I seem to recall the MCAS/PARCC scores have not been on an up swing for the last few years.