High Schools in Lawrence

In Lawrence, Massachusetts, there are three high schools: Lawrence High School and High School Learning Center, which serve grades 9–12, and RISE Academy, which serves grades 6–12; together they enroll 3,725 students, within a Lawrence district ranked 337 of 351 in Massachusetts (4th percentile, 0 stars). Lawrence High School enrolls 3,453 students (92.7%), High School Learning Center 198 (5.3%), and RISE Academy 74 (2.0%).

For parents comparing outcomes, Lawrence High School is the relatively strongest local option: it has the highest graduation rate (86.7%), the lowest dropout rate (9.0%), and the only broad nonzero core test proficiency, with ELA at 15.7%, math at 13.11%, and science at 10.91% in 2025–2026—above the district but still far below state levels. Its physics proficiency is a bright spot, at 54.81% in 2025–2026 and 65.79% in 2024–2025, both above state; biology is 0% in both years. High School Learning Center has the most acute concerns: the lowest graduation rate (67.4%), the highest dropout rate (19.7%), and 0% ELA and math proficiency in both years. RISE Academy is the smallest school, with the lowest spending ($8,459) and lowest student-teacher ratio (7.7); its graduation rate is 73.8%, dropout rate 14.3%, math proficiency 0%, and ELA proficiency 7.69% in 2025–2026, up from 0%.

Key takeaways: because Lawrence High School holds about 92.7% of high-school enrollment, its results heavily shape district averages, so its “standout” status is relative rather than absolute—its 2025–2026 rank is 312 of 353, still in the bottom 12%. High School Learning Center’s outcome gap is not explained by spending or class size alone, since both are close to Lawrence High School’s. RISE Academy’s lower spending and smaller classes do not translate into clearly stronger outcomes. The physics-versus-biology split at Lawrence High School is striking and worth investigating. Data limitations matter: free/reduced-lunch percentages are unknown, spending is from 2020–2021 while outcomes are later, and rank histories are uneven, so comparisons should be treated as suggestive, not causal.