Best High Schools in Worcester, MA

Worcester, Massachusetts has nine high schools serving roughly 8,106 students, from large traditional 9–12 campuses to small alternative and selective programs. Eight belong to the Worcester district, which ranks 304th of 351 districts statewide (13th percentile, 1 star); Ma Academy for Math and Science School operates as its own district. The five traditional 9–12 schools — South High Community, Doherty Memorial High, Worcester Technical High, North High, and Burncoat Senior High — enroll 7,264 students, about 90% of the total. Claremont Academy, University Pk Campus School, and Worcester Alternative High School serve grades 7–12 or fewer, and enrollment ranges from 1,800 at South High down to 36 at Worcester Alternative.

University Pk Campus School posts the strongest current profile among district schools: 194th of 353, 45th percentile, 2 stars, a 95.1% graduation rate, zero dropout, and 10th-grade ELA slightly above the state average, with math close behind. Doherty Memorial High is the strongest traditional comprehensive high school (233rd, 34th percentile, 2 stars) and leads the non-selective schools in 10th-grade ELA (34.31%), math (26.32%), and science. Worcester Technical High has the best completion results — 96.7% graduation and 1.6% dropout — yet ranks 293rd, showing that strong completion does not always match test proficiency. Burncoat Senior High improved from the 19th to the 26th percentile.

North High (325th, 0 stars, 79.2% graduation, 13.2% dropout) and Claremont Academy (338th, 4th percentile, 16.7% dropout) face the biggest challenges. Across the group, 10th-grade ELA, math, and science proficiency generally trails the state; only University Park matches the state in ELA. Ma Academy for Math and Science School is a selective outlier — 99 students in grades 11–12 with a 100% graduation rate — and should be viewed separately. Worcester Alternative High School has 36 students and no rank or test data, so its percentages are less stable. Free and reduced lunch information is not reported for any school, so it remains unknown.