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Salem

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At a glance

288^thof 351 Massachusetts districts▼ 12

Better than 17% of Massachusetts districts

Elementary 6 Middle 1 High 3Grades PK, KG-12

29 Highland Avenue
Salem, MA 01970·(978) 740-1212·All Massachusetts district rankings →

Statewide performance 2018–2026

2026: better than 17.9% of districts

Schools

3,831

Students

Top rankedSalem High196^th of 353 Massachusetts high schools

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Biggest riser

Horace Mann Laboratory up 67 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Salem Early Childhood 9.2 students per teacher

✦

Newly ranked this year

New Liberty Innovation School

SchoolDigger ratings

2★

1★

0★

2 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

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

Summary:

Salem is a Massachusetts district with 10 schools serving roughly 3,725 students: six elementary schools, one middle school, and three high schools, with no alternative schools. Salem High is by far the largest school, with 952 students, while Salem Prep High School (23 students) and New Liberty Innovation School (36) are the smallest. District-wide, Salem ranks 288 of 351 in Massachusetts — 18th percentile, 1 star — but individual school ranks vary widely, from the 8th percentile at Bentley Academy Innovation School and New Liberty Innovation School to the 44th percentile at Salem High and the 43rd percentile at Carlton.

Several schools stand out positively. Carlton is the strongest elementary school on rank and test metrics: 43rd percentile, all-grade ELA 40.83% (above the state's 40.03%) and science 42.86% (above the state's 40.98%), with 3rd-grade ELA at 56.1%. Bates has the strongest elementary math results, at 38.55% all-grade, close to the state's 41.11%. Witchcraft Heights posts 34.93% in math, with 5th-grade math at 41.79%, above the state's 39.5%. Among high schools, Salem High is the clear standout with a 42.33% Biology End-of-Course score (above the state's 37.68%), an 89.5% graduation rate, and a 4.4% dropout rate. Collins Middle leads the district in ELA (32.51%) and science (30.84%), though its math score of 23.14% is below the district's 25.46%.

On the other end, Bentley Academy Innovation School is the clearest academic concern: 8th percentile, 0 stars, with all-grade ELA at 17.74%, math at 9.6%, and science at 14.58%. Horace Mann Laboratory follows at the 16th percentile with ELA 23.44% and math 19.69%. The high school picture is split: New Liberty Innovation School has a 69.2% graduation rate, a 23.1% dropout rate, and low 10th-grade results (18.18% ELA, 9.09% math), while Salem Prep High School reports no test-score data here, a 71.4% graduation rate, a 0.0% dropout rate, and the highest per-student spending at $44,411. Free/reduced lunch data is blank for every school, so socioeconomic context can't be analyzed. No Salem school is above the 50th percentile in 2025–2026.

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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 Biology (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 Biology End of Course	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	52.8%	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-5	211 Lafayette Street	Salem	01970	Essex County	Salem	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 740-1297	412	31	13.2	41.1%	135 (32.8%)	22 (5.3%)	222 (53.9%)	4 (1.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (6.6%)	33.8	597^th of 899 public elementary schools	33.6%		41.4	537^th of 906 public elementary schools	40.7%	60	43.2	33.3	30.8					35.0	43.2	22.9	26.9					29.9	30.8			30.8			$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	61.3%	200 (48.8%)	30 (7.3%)	146 (35.6%)	5 (1.2%)	6 (1.5%)	2 (0.5%)	20 (4.9%)	39.9	536^th of 899 public elementary schools	40.4%		42.8	526^th of 906 public elementary schools	41.9%	10	36.7	32.8	32.7					34.1	40.7	39.7	34.7					38.6	36.7			36.7			$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	69.4%	136 (55.1%)	15 (6.1%)	80 (32.4%)	4 (1.6%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	9 (3.6%)	43.1	509^th of 899 public elementary schools	43.4%		38.9	559^th of 906 public elementary schools	38.3%	50	56.1	32.4	33.3					40.8	34.2	27.0	35.7					32.5	42.9			42.9			$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	66.9%	100 (34.1%)	22 (7.5%)	150 (51.2%)	11 (3.8%)	2 (0.7%)	1 (0.3%)	7 (2.4%)	17.5	753^rd of 899 public elementary schools	16.2%		12.5	820^th of 906 public elementary schools	9.5%	67	20.0	31.7	19.1					23.4	9.1	26.8	23.8					19.7	19.5			19.5			$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	59.9%	341 (35.8%)	74 (7.8%)	467 (49.1%)	23 (2.4%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (4.2%)	43.8	196^th of 353 public high schools	44.5%		53	167^th of 349 public high schools	52.1%	29							34.2								35.4				33.1		42.3		$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	41.2%	196 (43.1%)	35 (7.7%)	185 (40.7%)	18 (4.0%)	2 (0.4%)	2 (0.4%)	17 (3.7%)	33.1	605^th of 899 public elementary schools	32.7%		35.4	590^th of 906 public elementary schools	34.9%	15	30.9	21.6	33.9					28.5	29.4	33.8	41.8					34.9	37.3			37.3			$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	63.4%	246 (40.3%)	43 (7.0%)	272 (44.5%)	16 (2.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (5.4%)	31.9	316^th of 478 public middle schools	33.9%		31.4	318^th of 484 public middle schools	34.3%	2				33.6	37.2	27.0		32.5				25.3	18.2	25.4		23.1		30.8		30.8		26.2	$25,747
Salem Prep High School	Public	8-12	2 Museum Place Mall	Salem	01970	Essex County	Salem	No	No	No	No	(978) 740-1171	23	2	11.7	100.0%	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%)	11.7	826^th of 899 public elementary schools	8.1%		18.1	760^th of 906 public elementary schools	16.1%	66	10.0	35.3	12.0					17.7	2.5	25.7	4.0					9.6	14.6			14.6			$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%)	10.2	323^rd of 353 public high schools	8.5%					(n/a)							18.2								9.1						10.0		$33,883

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Bentley Academy Charter School (District)	0 mi	1
Salem Academy Charter (District)	0.83 mi	1	197^th
Beverly	1.68 mi	8	89^th
Marblehead	1.9 mi	5
Peabody	1.9 mi	11	266^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.