Gardner High

Gardner High School in Gardner, MA, serves 808 students in grades 8–12 at 200 Catherine Street, making it the largest school in the Gardner district and unusual among high schools in that it also houses an eighth grade.

Gardner High ranks 246 of 353 schools (30th percentile, 2 stars) for 2025-2026, while its district ranks 326 of 351 (7th percentile, 0 stars) — a roughly 23-point gap that suggests the high school is performing meaningfully better than the Gardner system overall. The school has stayed within a 15th–33rd percentile band over ten years, with mild recent improvement. Its real strength is persistence: a 93.1% graduation rate and 3.4% dropout rate in 2024-25, better than Leominster High School (92.9%/6.8%) despite Leominster ranking 27 places higher, and far better than in-district Gardner Academy for Learning and Technology (72.3%/12.3%). Gardner also spent $14,466–$14,681 per student, near the bottom of its peer group. On 2025-2026 10th-grade tests, Gardner scored 32.26 ELA, 31.15 math, and 27.83 science — about 12–13 points below the state, but 2nd of six comprehensive peers in math and science, ahead of Fitchburg High in every subject.

The defining pattern is strong completion alongside below-state proficiency. The school's own numbers show the 8th-grade cohort inside the building is the weaker half (19.16 ELA and math vs. 32.26 and 31.15 in 10th grade), and 8th-grade civics is the weakest single result at 17.37 versus 39.77 statewide. English Language Learner students are the standout subgroup at 40 of 105 (62nd percentile, 3 stars), well above the school's overall standing, though only one year of data exists. Other reported subgroups cluster in the low-to-mid 20s, and one small subgroup posted the lowest figure in the school's data and is worth monitoring. Science results swing widely year to year, so the honest read is inconsistent rather than declining. Overall, Gardner High graduates students at rates competitive with better-scoring neighbors on a below-average budget, with weaknesses concentrated in 8th grade and civics.