Best Public Schools in Lancaster, MA

Lancaster, Massachusetts has two public schools serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade: Mary Rowlandson Elementary (PK–5, 473 students) and Luther Burbank Middle School (6–8, 245 students). Both belong to the Nashoba district, which ranks 69th of 351 districts statewide — 80th percentile, 4 stars. Combined enrollment is 718 students, and no high school appears in this data, so students continue elsewhere after eighth grade.

Luther Burbank Middle School is the clear standout: it ranks 69th of 478 middle schools, the 86th percentile with 4 stars, and its percentile has risen from 70 to 78 to 86 over three years. Its 2025–2026 proficiency beats both district and state in every core subject, roughly 20–22 points above the state. Mary Rowlandson Elementary is also above the state in ELA, math, and science but trails the Nashoba district by about 12 points in each, and its rank declined from the 71st to the 58th percentile, dropping from 4 stars to 3 stars.

The middle school has a lower student-teacher ratio (10.4 vs. 12.4) and spent $21,890 per student in 2020–2021, about 9.2% more than the elementary school's $20,053 — though that figure predates the test data. Grade-level results vary: the elementary school's 4th grade math (57.83) is well above the state's 43.2, while 3rd grade math (37.14) is below both district and state. The middle school is strongest in 6th grade ELA and math and 8th grade math and science, with 8th grade civics above the state but below district. Free/reduced-lunch data is unavailable for both schools.