Boston Magazine has released its 2024 rankings of the top public high schools in Greater Boston.
This year’s list highlights the highest performing schools and features details on academic achievements, community demographics and economic factors.
The list includes public high schools in towns or districts that are within I-495. Boston Magazine used the most recent data available from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Highly specialized schools and schools reporting insufficient information, as well as charter schools were omitted from the list. Median home prices were provided by the Massachusetts Association of Realtors and MLS.
To determine the rankings, George Recck, a statistician and director of the Math Resource Center at Babson College, reviewed the data, comparing each high school’s metrics to the overall average for all schools. He then assigned a percentage weight to each school’s standardized values to calculate a total “score” for ranking purposes.
Dover-Sherborn Regional High School topped the list this year, moving up from its No. 3 ranking in 2023. With 643 students and an average class size of 15.6, 86% of its 10th graders scored proficient or higher on the MCAS in English language arts, 88% in math and 86% in science and technology/engineering. The school also boasts strong average SAT scores, with 644 in reading/writing and 647 in math and has a 98.7% graduation rate, with 81.9% of graduates attending college.
Weston High School took the No. 2 spot this year, after taking the top spot in 2023. With 662 students and an average class size of 13.2, 88% of its 10th graders scored proficient or higher on the MCAS in English language arts, 84% in math and 75% in science and technology/engineering. The school also boasts strong average SAT scores, with 656 in reading/writing and 672 in math and has a 95.5% graduation rate, with 82.2% of graduates attending college.
At No. 3 this year is Manchester Essex Regional High School which fell from No. 2 last year. Its 400 students have an average class size of 11.7. Seventy-eight percent of its 10th graders scored proficient or higher on the MCAS in English language arts, 71% in math and 67% in science and technology/engineering. The school also boasts average SAT scores of 622 in reading/writing and 594 in math and has a 100% graduation rate, with 74% of graduates attending college.
For the second year in a row Wayland High School took the No. 4 spot. With 820 students and an average class size of 15.4, 88% of its 10th graders scored proficient or higher on the MCAS in English language arts, 85% in math and 83% in science and technology/engineering. The school also boasts strong average SAT scores, with 643 in reading/writing and 652 in math and has a 100% graduation rate, with 83.6% of graduates attending college.
Concord-Carlisle High School rounded out the top five after ranking 28th last year. With 1,316 students and an average class size of 15.3, 85% of its 10th graders scored proficient or higher on the MCAS in English language arts, 80% in math and 77% in science and technology/engineering. The school also boasts strong average SAT scores of 651 in both reading/writing and math and has a 97.4% graduation rate, with 92.4% of graduates attending college.
Boston Magazine also included several “honor roll” lists, spotlighting schools based on criteria such as average class size, student-to-teacher ratio, value for housing, and the percentage of 10th graders meeting or exceeding expectations on the MCAS.