Salem

Summary:

The Salem school district in Massachusetts consists of 11 schools, including 7 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 3 high schools. The district as a whole is underperforming compared to the state, ranking 276 out of 348 districts in Massachusetts and receiving a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Among the standout schools in Salem, Carlton Elementary School has the highest proficiency rates in English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science across all grade levels. Saltonstall School, a K-8 school, also has strong performance, ranking in the top half of Massachusetts elementary schools with particularly high proficiency rates in English Language Arts. In contrast, New Liberty Innovation School, a small high school, has lower proficiency rates than the district and state averages, but it has a high 4-year graduation rate of 81.6% and a low dropout rate of 8%.

The data reveals significant variation in academic performance across the schools in Salem, with some high-performing elementary schools and struggling high schools. This suggests the district may need to examine best practices at the higher-performing schools and provide additional support and resources to the lower-performing ones. Additionally, the high schools in Salem appear to be struggling, with lower proficiency rates, graduation rates, and higher dropout rates compared to the state, indicating this may be an area requiring focused attention and intervention.

District Detail

29 Highland Avenue
Salem, MA 01970

(978) 740-1212

SchoolDigger Rank:
276^th of 348 Massachusetts districts

See the 2025 Massachusetts District rankings!

Grades served: PK, KG-12
Students: 3,831

Primary Schools: 6
Middle Schools: 1
High Schools: 3
Alternative Schools: 0

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts (2025)								MCAS Next Generation Mathematics (2025)								MCAS Next Generation Science (2025)				MCAS Next Generation Biology (2025)	MCAS Next Generation Civics (2025)	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	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	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 Biology All Grades	MCAS Next Generation Civics 8th Grade	Total
Salem Early Childhood	Public	PK	25 Memorial Drive	Salem	01970	Essex County	Salem	No	No	No	No	(978) 740-1221	106	12	9.2		39 (36.8%)	6 (5.7%)	48 (45.3%)	6 (5.7%)	1 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (5.7%)								(n/a)																							$30,932
Saltonstall School	Public	K-8	211 Lafayette Street	Salem	01970	Essex County	Salem	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 740-1297	412	31	13.2		135 (32.8%)	22 (5.3%)	222 (53.9%)	4 (1.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (6.6%)	41.4	537^th of 906 public elementary schools	40.7%		41.2	551^st of 916 public elementary schools	39.8%	14	33.3	45.8	43.5	43.9	20.9	35.0		37.3	37.8	29.2	21.7	26.2	11.6	10.0		23.1	47.8	20.0		34.9		22.5	$23,905
Bates	Public	PK, KG-5	53 Liberty Hill Avenue	Salem	01970	Essex County	Salem	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 740-1250	410	33	12.5		200 (48.8%)	30 (7.3%)	146 (35.6%)	5 (1.2%)	6 (1.5%)	2 (0.5%)	20 (4.9%)	42.8	526^th of 906 public elementary schools	41.9%		38.6	568^th of 916 public elementary schools	38.0%	42	26.8	41.7	33.9					33.7	32.1	56.3	33.3					39.5	46.8			46.8			$22,713
Carlton	Public	K-5	10 Skerry Street	Salem	01970	Essex County	Salem	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 740-1280	247	24	10.4		136 (55.1%)	15 (6.1%)	80 (32.4%)	4 (1.6%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	9 (3.6%)	38.9	559^th of 906 public elementary schools	38.3%		46.5	509^th of 916 public elementary schools	44.4%	50	42.5	35.0	43.8					40.6	25.0	32.5	29.2					28.9	41.7			41.7			$24,681
Horace Mann Laboratory	Public	PK, KG-5	79 Willson Street	Salem	01970	Essex County	Salem	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 740-1290	293	25	11.8		100 (34.1%)	22 (7.5%)	150 (51.2%)	11 (3.8%)	2 (0.7%)	1 (0.3%)	7 (2.4%)	12.5	820^th of 906 public elementary schools	9.5%		12.7	827^th of 916 public elementary schools	9.7%	7	22.0	11.1	25.0					19.7	24.4	5.4	10.0					13.6	20.0			20.0			$23,351
Salem High	Public	9-12	77 Willson Street	Salem	01970	Essex County	Salem	No	No	No	No	(978) 740-1123	952	97	9.8		341 (35.8%)	74 (7.8%)	467 (49.1%)	23 (2.4%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (4.2%)	53	167^th of 349 public high schools	52.1%		47.5	201^st of 348 public high schools	42.2%	34							47.3								45.5				45.1		34.5		$28,332
Witchcraft Heights	Public	K-5	1 Frederick Street	Salem	01970	Essex County	Salem	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 740-1271	455	33	13.6		196 (43.1%)	35 (7.7%)	185 (40.7%)	18 (4.0%)	2 (0.4%)	2 (0.4%)	17 (3.7%)	35.4	590^th of 906 public elementary schools	34.9%		30.1	635^th of 916 public elementary schools	30.7%	45	31.6	33.3	30.1					31.6	46.1	34.9	30.1					36.9	34.9			34.9			$24,568
Collins Middle	Public	6-8	29 Highland Avenue	Salem	01970	Essex County	Salem	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 740-1191	611	48	12.6		246 (40.3%)	43 (7.0%)	272 (44.5%)	16 (2.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (5.4%)	31.4	318^th of 484 public middle schools	34.3%		21.4	381^st of 493 public middle schools	22.7%	63				31.5	34.4	33.3		33.1				19.1	20.5	22.8		20.9		32.5		32.5		23.3	$25,747
Salem Prep High School	Public	9-12	2 Museum Place Mall	Salem	01970	Essex County	Salem	No	No	No	No	(978) 740-1171	23	2	11.7		8 (34.8%)	1 (4.3%)	13 (56.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (4.3%)								(n/a)																							$43,927
Bentley Academy Innovation School	Public	PK, KG-5	25 Memorial Drive	Salem	01970	Essex County	Salem	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 740-1260	286	20	14.3		36 (12.6%)	21 (7.3%)	224 (78.3%)	2 (0.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.7%)	18.1	760^th of 906 public elementary schools	16.1%		11.6	840^th of 916 public elementary schools	8.3%	80	36.4	11.1	26.7					23.6	23.5	8.9	26.1					19.2	21.7			21.7			$27,350
New Liberty Innovation School	Public	9-12	2 East India Square	Salem	01970	Essex County	Salem	No	No	No	No	(978) 825-3470	36	4	8.0		10 (27.8%)	3 (8.3%)	19 (52.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (8.3%)								(n/a)							25.0								16.7								$33,883

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Bentley Academy Charter School (District)	0 mi	1
Salem Academy Charter	0.83 mi	1	158^th
Beverly	1.68 mi	8	100^th
Marblehead	1.9 mi	5
Peabody	1.9 mi	11	265^th

See the top MA Massachusetts districts

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.