There’s no doubt about it: Massachusetts is home to some of the best high schools in the country.
As the world continues to face new challenges, Massachusetts handles them with grace and adaptation, changing along with the times rather than resisting. As such, it celebrates its role as a seat of technological innovation.
Major tech companies such as Google, Amazon, and even Facebook have a place in this state, as to evergrowing biotech companies like Moderna, Boston Scientific, and Biogen.
Why wouldn’t they want to join a culture that already celebrates so many fantastic higher institutions of learning?
Some of the best universities in the world– including Harvard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Boston University– call this state home.
With all this rising opportunity, it’s no wonder parents everywhere are hopefully considering enrolling their teenagers in a top Massachusetts high school.
To make research easy, we have compiled information on the best high schools in Massachusetts, listed here in no particular order.
We chose these high schools as they are ranked in major publications. Sources for those schools are listed at the end of the article.
Read on to learn more about ten of the best high schools in Massachusetts!
Boston Latin School (Boston, Massachusetts)
Taking its slice of history, Boston Latin School celebrates the title of the first public school in America. Since 1635, this magnet school has provided the highest possible education level to young people from around the country.
In addition to being the number one school in the state of Massachusetts, Boston Latin School is ranked twenty-sixth out of thousands of high schools across the nation. It achieves this title through a rigorous dedication to college preparation.
In recent years, 100 percent of students enrolled in Boston Latin School took at least one Advanced Placement Exam; of those, a stunning average of ninety-nine percent passed at least one.
These are the highest numbers in the state, earning this school the title of the best school for college prep in Massachusetts.
To show the educational value of serving others, this school requires students to complete at least one hundred hours of community service before graduation, and it provides plenty of opportunities to help students reach that goal, including valuable internships.
Lexington High School (Lexington, Massachusetts)
As one of the top STEM high schools in the nation, the staff encourages every student to take their learning to another level with programs such as the Advancement Via Individual Determination, a thriving college preparatory program.
Lexington High School may rank among the highest in the state in terms of college readiness, but they care about far more than just numbers.
Here, they care about building the leadership of their students.
The School Improvement Team is built by students and empowered by a drive to make this school their own. This club functions as more than just “resume filler;” it truly guides the school’s overall direction.
By writing the annual report to the parents, these students help keep the community and school tightly connected.
They serve as both advisors and guides to the administration, speaking for the student body as they assist in creating the school’s regular improvement plan.
These students take a huge role in the school’s budget as they decide where and how incentive funds should be invested.
Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School (Marlborough, Massachusetts)
While enrolled in the Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School, students are part of a community that celebrates higher learning.
Events are designed to balance the social needs of the students with the rigor that has helped establish this school as number two in the state of Massachusetts.
In addition to attending the traditional prom, students also have access to opportunities like “Science Night,” where upperclassmen in the science research program showcase their findings.
In the past, these projects have included everything from cybersecurity to electromagnetic transmissions.
To ensure as diverse and even a student body as possible, this school fills empty student spaces through a lottery process, sifting through all available applications at random.
In doing so, they show a dedication to the equality they hope to teach their students.
Weston High School (Weston, Massachusetts)
Weston High School did not become one of the top 150 stem schools in all of America by accident; it did so through rigorous efforts toward making math and science fun for students of all backgrounds!
Alongside the traditional clubs hosted by most high schools, Weston High School students can also participate in those geared toward furthering their education in an engaging, community-centered way.
As part of the BioBuilder Club, students can work alongside practicing doctors and scientists as they tackle real-world problems.
In addition to creating stunning projects, they also have the chance to network with leaders in this field and build connections they can carry with them throughout their entire careers.
In the Cybersecurity Club, students can learn and practice this real-life skill through tutorials in network design, hacking, and cyber defense.
Whether enrolled in Level Up Tutoring or the Stock Market Club, students have unique access to college-level learning, all within the fun, easy environment of their high school.
Sturgis Charter Public School (Hyannis, Massachusetts)
Sturgis Charter Public School makes a name for itself through its singular, dedicated mission: to ensure that every student participates in International Baccalaureate (IB) exams. In doing so, they set students up for a promising future in higher education.
So far, this mission has been a doubtless success. Recent years have seen 100 percent of Sturgis students participating in testing, with a staggering average of ninety-six percent passing!
If the idea of attending a school so dedicated to testing seems miserable, think again. By striking a perfect balance between work and play, Stirgus keeps its students happy, a fact easily supported by its ninety-eight percent graduation rate.
Recently, this school’s approach to learning landed it in the spotlight when they were featured in Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine’s book In Search of Deeper Learning: the quest to remake the American high school.
Of Sturgis, these authors wrote: “Holding this balance [between work and fun] was what made the school what it was…. More generally, having adults who really cared about their students, who knew when to push and when to support, was critical to the success of all the good schools that we encountered.”
The Bromfield School (Harvard, Massachusetts)
The Bromfield School does more than simply foster a curiosity about learning as a theory. It puts that theory into practice, encouraging students to explore the world around them with an open mind.
Through the Global Competency Certification Program, students are encouraged to learn new languages, travel, and participate in online programs designed to prepare them to make an impact on our world.
Though this journey will take them around the world, it all starts on campus, where they begin the first step by signing up for classes to lead the way.
As they check off items on this list, students can stay busy through involvement with “The Mirror,” the Bromfield School’s elite student newspaper.
From the Bromfield Astronomy and Rocket Science Club to the Anime club, The Bromfield School has plenty of ways to keep students engaged and stimulated!
Mystic Valley Regional Charter School (Malden, Massachusetts)
Mystic Valley Regional Charter School is dedicated to encouraging each and every student to cross that graduation stage with a college plan already in place.
In the name of seeing that mission through, they implement a rigorous and exciting college counseling program.
Starting in freshman year, each student takes part in a weekly college counseling class. Here, students learn about different options and how they can take steps each year toward achieving their overall goals.
As students advance throughout their high school experience, these classes advance alongside them.
The on-campus college counselor begins working with each student individually, hosting one-on-one meetings to help them decide their best, most realistic course of action.
With support like this, it is no wonder that Mystic Valley Regional Charter School is ranked among the top ten schools in the state for college readiness!
Dover-Sherborn Regional High School (Dover, Massachusetts)
Dover-Sherborn believes that a well-rounded education prepares students for all aspects of life.
In the name of teaching values in teamwork and ethics, this school does everything it can to support participation in extracurricular activities and student athletics.
Student-athletes at this renowned school are privy to some of the top facilities in the state. Never having to scramble in a fight for space, the athletics department ensures that each team receives equal treatment, regardless of gender.
The Richard Wakely Gymnasium holds plenty of space for both boy’s and girl’s basketball, while the DS Tennis Courts easily accommodate the JV and varsity teams.
The Lacross and soccer teams divide territory on the Farm Street Field, as the different seasons make sharing space easy.
Meanwhile, students all across campus are fine meeting the community service hours they need for any scholarship, as Dover-Sherborn provides dozens of opportunities all over the school and the surrounding community.
John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science (Roxbury, Massachusetts)
If there is one thing the John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science knows, it’s change.
Since its founding in the 1800s as Mechanic Arts High School, this institution has undergone numerous transformations, advancing each time to become the thriving educational community it is today.
Today, this school celebrates a place as the fifth-best school in Massachusetts according to test scores and college readiness, with a 100 percent graduation rate.
In addition to the usual high school diploma, this school offers students the chance to seize their education by taking on additional responsibilities and focusing on their own studies.
Students have the chance to select an “AP Capstone” pathway, where they can plan on enrolling in as many advanced placement courses as possible.
The computer science pathway places a deepened emphasis on computer courses, while students undergoing the engineering pathway can emerge from high school ready for whatever their college engineering degree may throw at them.
Westwood High School (Westwood, Massachusetts)
College preparation is about more than academic study. It’s about ensuring that each student leaves with the emotional and physical capabilities to take on all life’s challenges.
In keeping with the times, Westwood High School balances highly rigorous academic programming with a series of wellness courses designed to help each student meet their social and emotional needs.
In Wellness I, students learn the kinds of safety skills every young adult should graduate high school. They also participate in healthy, team-building sports.
Westwood High School lays the ideal foundation, then arms students with the tools they will need to build their own future after graduation.
The academic excellence at Westwood High School is apparent in its high average SAT score of 1320!
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