Best Public Schools in Waltham, MA

Summary:

The city of Waltham, Massachusetts is home to 10 schools serving grades K-12, all part of the Waltham School District, which is ranked 259 out of 356 districts in the state. The district has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger, indicating room for improvement in academic performance.

Among the standout schools in Waltham are Douglas MacArthur Elementary School, which has the highest statewide ranking among the elementary schools and the strongest MCAS test scores, and John F. Kennedy Middle School, which has the highest statewide ranking among the middle schools and the highest student-to-teacher ratio. In contrast, Henry Whittemore Elementary School struggles academically, performing well below the district and state averages on MCAS tests. The data suggests a correlation between lower student-to-teacher ratios and stronger academic performance, as seen at William F. Stanley Elementary School.

Overall, the Waltham schools exhibit significant variation in academic performance, with some schools excelling and others struggling, particularly along racial and socioeconomic lines. Targeted interventions and support may be needed to address these disparities and ensure that all students in Waltham have access to a high-quality education, regardless of their background or the school they attend.

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2023)				Ranking (2022)				MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts (2023)								MCAS Next Generation Mathematics (2023)								MCAS Next Generation Science (2023)				MCAS Next Generation Physics (2023)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2021)
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	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2023)	Statewide Rank (2023)	State Percentile (2023)	SchoolDigger Rating (2023)	Average Standard Score (2022)	Statewide Rank (2022)	State Percentile (2022)	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 All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Douglas MacArthur Elementary School	Public	K-5	494 Lincoln Street	Waltham	02451	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	No	(781) 314-5721	477	42	11.3		297 (62.3%)	31 (6.5%)	83 (17.4%)	40 (8.4%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	24 (5.0%)	56.6	419^th of 926 public elementary schools	54.8%		71.2	267^th of 932 public elementary schools	71.4%	152	43.9	37.8	59.4					47.0	26.3	44.6	62.3					45.5	46.4			46.4		$21,642	$1,009	$20,633
Henry Whittemore Elementary School	Public	K-5	30 Parmenter Road	Waltham	02453	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	Yes	(781) 314-5785	385	40	9.5		42 (10.9%)	22 (5.7%)	302 (78.4%)	14 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.3%)	14.1	815^th of 926 public elementary schools	12.0%		12.7	834^th of 932 public elementary schools	10.5%	19	23.9	12.5	23.4					20.0	25.0	14.1	21.9					20.4	18.8			18.8		$22,269	$953	$21,316
James Fitzgerald Elementary School	Public	K-5	138 Beal Road	Waltham	02453	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	No	(781) 314-5685	378	38	10.0		209 (55.3%)	10 (2.6%)	120 (31.7%)	18 (4.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (5.6%)	47.4	494^th of 926 public elementary schools	46.7%		59.5	394^th of 932 public elementary schools	57.7%	100	40.4	43.1	34.7					39.2	34.6	50.8	52.8					47.1	30.6			30.6		$23,432	$901	$22,531
John F Kennedy Middle	Public	6-8	655 Lexington St	Waltham	02452	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	Yes	(781) 314-5563	600	60	9.9		302 (50.3%)	54 (9.0%)	195 (32.5%)	20 (3.3%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	25 (4.2%)	62.6	164^th of 497 public middle schools	67.0%		66	151^st of 497 public middle schools	69.6%	13				43.1	43.3	49.1		45.0				44.8	41.7	48.2		44.8		43.7		43.7		$23,907	$781	$23,125
William F. Stanley Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	250 South Street	Waltham	02453	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	Yes	(781) 314-5620	383	43	8.8		133 (34.7%)	38 (9.9%)	163 (42.6%)	37 (9.7%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.6%)	43.1	536^th of 926 public elementary schools	42.1%		38.8	573^rd of 932 public elementary schools	38.5%	37	44.7	23.1	47.6					37.6	34.0	42.3	40.5					39.0	40.5			40.5		$27,565	$1,509	$26,055
Northeast Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	70 Putney Lane	Waltham	02452	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	Yes	(781) 314-5740	507	49	10.4		214 (42.2%)	60 (11.8%)	185 (36.5%)	36 (7.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (2.2%)	27	673^rd of 926 public elementary schools	27.3%		29.3	664^th of 932 public elementary schools	28.8%	9	22.2	28.6	38.6					29.8	20.8	39.3	29.6					29.2	28.6			28.6		$23,912	$1,142	$22,770
John W. McDevitt Middle School	Public	6-8	75 Church Street	Waltham	02453	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	Yes	(781) 314-5595	595	70	8.4		144 (24.2%)	51 (8.6%)	375 (63.0%)	17 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.3%)	40.5	279^th of 497 public middle schools	43.9%		44.7	260^th of 497 public middle schools	47.7%	19				44.4	39.0	26.4		36.7				34.2	33.2	28.3		32.0		21.2		21.2		$23,117	$1,233	$21,884
Thomas R Plympton Elementary School	Public	K-5	20 Farnsworth Street	Waltham	02451	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	Yes	(781) 314-5765	353	33	10.8		129 (36.5%)	44 (12.5%)	145 (41.1%)	22 (6.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.7%)	41.8	548^th of 926 public elementary schools	40.8%		32.9	629^th of 932 public elementary schools	32.5%	81	32.3	32.7	45.5					36.6	38.7	38.2	41.8					39.5	38.2			38.2		$23,136	$944	$22,192
Waltham Senior High	Public	9-12	617 Lexington Street	Waltham	02452	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	No	(781) 314-5445	1,751	162	10.8		645 (36.8%)	159 (9.1%)	844 (48.2%)	67 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	30 (1.7%)	36.1	231^st of 347 public high schools	33.4%		38.5	223^rd of 342 public high schools	34.8%	8							47.6								39.6				39.2		36.8	$22,250	$818	$21,433
Waltham Public Schools Dual Language Program	Public	K-5	510 Moody Street	Waltham	02453	Middlesex County	Waltham	No	No	No	Yes	(781) 314-5402	214	17	12.7		45 (21.0%)	8 (3.7%)	152 (71.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (4.2%)	31.2	645^th of 926 public elementary schools	30.3%		24.2	708^th of 932 public elementary schools	24.0%	63	38.2	37.9	33.3					36.6	38.2	27.6	26.7					31.2	16.7			16.7		$19,574	$653	$18,921

Cities Near Waltham

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Lexington	2.72 mi	11	10^th
Weston	3.04 mi	5	9^th
Lincoln	3.17 mi	1	31^st
West Newton	3.31 mi	2	38^th
Auburndale	3.41 mi	2	35^th

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.