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Best Public Schools in Waltham, MA

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its Massachusetts rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

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At a glance

Schools

5,777

Students

Top rankedJohn F Kennedy Middle133^rd of 478 Massachusetts middle schools

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Biggest riser

James Fitzgerald Elementary School up 110 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

William F. Stanley Elementary School 8.4 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

3★

2★

1★

1 school without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

Compare Massachusetts cities →See the top-ranked Massachusetts schools →

Summary:

Waltham, Massachusetts has 11 schools serving about 5,777 students in total: seven elementary schools (2,684 students), two middle schools (1,253 students), and two high schools (1,840 students). The Waltham district is ranked 231st of 351 districts in the state, at the 34th percentile with 2 stars — a district-level rating, not a school-level one. Test scores shown are MCAS Next Generation % proficient, most elementary and middle scores are All Grades, and free/reduced-lunch percentages are blank for every school, so they are not used in comparisons. Spending figures come from 2020–2021.

John F Kennedy Middle is the clearest standout: ranked 133 of 478, in the 72nd percentile with 4 stars, the only Waltham school at that rating, and above district and state in all four All-Grades subjects (ELA 48.7%, Math 48.62%, Science 45.41%, Civics 49.76%). It has also improved, from the 66th percentile in 2023–2024. James Fitzgerald Elementary is the top-ranked elementary school (307 of 899, 66th percentile, 3 stars), strong in ELA 46.37%, Math 54.19%, and Science 45.45%. Douglas MacArthur Elementary (372 of 899, 59th percentile, 3 stars) has the highest elementary ELA at 51.84%, but its science score of 29.67% is well below the state.

At the other end, Henry Whittemore Elementary is the lowest-ranked Waltham school (670 of 899, 25th percentile, 1 star) with ELA at 22.44%. John W. McDevitt Middle School is below district and state in every core subject and slipped from the 54th to the 49th percentile. Waltham Valor High School, with only 49 students, reports a 30% graduation rate and 35% dropout rate and has no test scores or rank history. Science is a recurring weak spot across the district, and spending and class size do not line up neatly with results: William F. Stanley Elementary has the highest spending at $27,565 and lowest student-teacher ratio at 8.4, yet sits near the 36th percentile.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts (2026)								MCAS Next Generation Mathematics (2026)								MCAS Next Generation Science (2026)				MCAS Next Generation Physics (2026)	MCAS Next Generation Civics (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2015)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 4th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 5th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 6th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 7th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 8th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 10th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts All Grades	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 3rd Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 4th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 5th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 6th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 7th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 8th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 10th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics All Grades	MCAS Next Generation Science 5th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Science 8th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Science 10th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Science All Grades	MCAS Next Generation Physics End of Course	MCAS Next Generation Civics 8th Grade	Total
Douglas MacArthur Elementary School	Public	K-5	494 Lincoln Street	Waltham	02451	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	No	(781) 314-5721	475	41	11.4	33.7%	271 (57.1%)	35 (7.4%)	106 (22.3%)	36 (7.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	23 (4.8%)	57.7	372^nd of 899 public elementary schools	58.6%		55.3	403^rd of 906 public elementary schools	55.5%	31	50.6	48.4	56.5					51.8	35.3	48.4	46.7					43.8	29.7			29.7			$23,980
Henry Whittemore Elementary School	Public	K-5	30 Parmenter Road	Waltham	02453	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	Yes	(781) 314-5785	372	41	9.0	73.3%	40 (10.8%)	18 (4.8%)	287 (77.2%)	14 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.5%)	25.6	670^th of 899 public elementary schools	25.5%		27.2	658^th of 906 public elementary schools	27.4%	12	14.6	21.2	32.7					22.4	25.5	42.3	30.6					32.7	24.5			24.5			$25,757
James Fitzgerald Elementary School	Public	K-5	138 Beal Road	Waltham	02453	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	No	(781) 314-5685	350	35	9.9	32.3%	177 (50.6%)	11 (3.1%)	121 (34.6%)	20 (5.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (5.7%)	65.5	307^th of 899 public elementary schools	65.9%		53.7	417^th of 906 public elementary schools	54.0%	110	46.7	43.8	49.1					46.4	50.0	59.4	52.7					54.2	45.5			45.5			$25,923
John F Kennedy Middle	Public	6-8	655 Lexington St	Waltham	02452	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	Yes	(781) 314-5563	635	61	10.3	46.8%	282 (44.4%)	70 (11.0%)	214 (33.7%)	34 (5.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (5.4%)	68.4	133^rd of 478 public middle schools	72.2%		67.1	142^nd of 484 public middle schools	70.7%	9				45.9	47.2	52.9		48.7				43.8	43.7	58.2		48.6		45.4		45.4		49.8	$24,123
William F. Stanley Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	250 South Street	Waltham	02453	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	Yes	(781) 314-5620	381	45	8.4	52.4%	101 (26.5%)	47 (12.3%)	189 (49.6%)	30 (7.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (3.7%)	35.4	574^th of 899 public elementary schools	36.2%		35.4	591^st of 906 public elementary schools	34.8%	17	39.2	26.7	29.3					31.8	43.1	46.7	19.0					35.1	32.8			32.8			$32,435
Northeast Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	70 Putney Lane	Waltham	02452	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	Yes	(781) 314-5740	527	49	10.7	28.5%	186 (35.3%)	62 (11.8%)	226 (42.9%)	32 (6.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (3.8%)	34.4	589^th of 899 public elementary schools	34.5%		31.1	623^rd of 906 public elementary schools	31.2%	34	26.0	32.8	31.8					30.0	39.7	43.1	31.8					38.1	27.7			27.7			$26,896
John W. McDevitt Middle School	Public	6-8	75 Church Street	Waltham	02453	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	Yes	(781) 314-5595	618	65	9.5	51.6%	145 (23.5%)	42 (6.8%)	383 (62.0%)	23 (3.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	23 (3.7%)	42.2	244^th of 478 public middle schools	49.0%		47.3	223^rd of 484 public middle schools	53.9%	21				36.0	26.5	39.5		34.3				33.2	28.9	40.7		34.5		29.4		29.4		37.3	$26,768
Thomas R Plympton Elementary School	Public	K-5	20 Farnsworth Street	Waltham	02451	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	Yes	(781) 314-5760	357	35	10.1	52.1%	139 (38.9%)	48 (13.4%)	136 (38.1%)	15 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (5.3%)	38.2	557^th of 899 public elementary schools	38.0%		38.3	567^th of 906 public elementary schools	37.4%	10	29.5	34.6	22.5					29.1	41.0	56.4	31.3					43.3	29.2			29.2			$25,849
Waltham Senior High	Public	9-12	554 Lexington Street	Waltham	02452	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	No	(781) 614-2702	1,791	172	10.4	47.3%	574 (32.0%)	161 (9.0%)	938 (52.4%)	60 (3.4%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.1%)	52 (2.9%)	35.6	224^th of 353 public high schools	36.5%		30.9	243^rd of 349 public high schools	30.4%	19							33.9								37.8				26.8		29.2		$24,447
Dual Language School	Public	K-5	617 Lexington St	Waltham	02452	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	Yes	(781) 314-5402	222	17	13.1		41 (18.5%)	5 (2.3%)	161 (72.5%)	3 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (5.4%)	32.6	609^th of 899 public elementary schools	32.3%		41.4	536^th of 906 public elementary schools	40.8%	73	29.7	31.4	36.4					32.4	27.0	28.6	33.3					29.5	39.4			39.4			$23,410
Waltham Valor High School	Public	9-12	617 Lexington Street	Waltham	02452	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(781) 314-5402	49	5	9.8		1 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	48 (98.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)

Cities Near Waltham

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Lexington	2.72 mi	11	9^th
Weston	3.04 mi	5	5^th
Lincoln	3.17 mi	1	27^th
West Newton	3.31 mi	2	56^th
Auburndale	3.41 mi	2	32^nd

See the top MA Massachusetts cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.