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North Reading High

Q: Is North Reading High a good school?

North Reading High ranks 47 th of 353 Massachusetts high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

47^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 353 Massachusetts High Schools

Better than 87% of Massachusetts high schools

Summary

North Reading High is a public high school serving grades 9–12 with 652 students in North Reading, MA, part of the North Reading district, which ranks 33rd of 351 districts statewide.

The school ranks 47th of 353 Massachusetts high schools in 2025–2026 (87th percentile, 4 stars), the highest spot among the nearby schools listed here — ahead of Wakefield Memorial High, Andover High, Reading Memorial High, Masconomet Regional High School, Wilmington High, Lynnfield High, and the nearby vocational schools. Science is the standout: 10th-grade science proficiency is 68.79%, higher than every listed neighbor and far above the state's 40.50%, and Biology end-of-course proficiency is 69.93%. Math proficiency of 69.94% is second only to Andover's 73.77% nearby. ELA proficiency of 61.96% is above the state and most neighbors, though Reading, Wakefield, and Andover edge slightly higher. Completion outcomes are excellent, with a 98.8% graduation rate and 0.6% dropout rate. Class sizes are comparatively favorable, with a 10.1 student–teacher ratio, and per-student spending was $19,065 in 2020–2021.

Two things are worth watching. First, the school's rank has softened from a recent peak — 27th in 2022–2023 down to 47th in 2025–2026 — and ELA and science proficiency have declined from earlier highs, even though both remain well above state averages. Second, effectiveness rankings for specific student groups remain strong (81st–87th percentile for female, male, Asian, White, special education, and low-SES students), but special education and low-SES rankings slipped from the 94th and 93rd percentiles in 2023–2024 to 83rd in 2025–2026. Free/reduced-lunch data is unavailable in the reporting reviewed, so it cannot be used to interpret these results and should not be read as zero.

652

Students ?

10.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$22,072

Per pupil spending ?

11.8%

Directly certified for free meals (2024-25) ?

All students in Massachusetts receive free school meals.

189 Park Street
North Reading, MA 01864-2398

(978) 664-7800

District: North Reading

Feeder schools for North Reading High:

Elementary:	E Ethel Little School
	J Turner Hood
	L D Batchelder
Middle:	North Reading Middle

Racial breakdown:

White:

84.4%

Asian:

6.6%

Hispanic:

4.9%

See top rated Massachusetts high schools

Compare North Reading High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Recently slipping — 92nd percentile in 2023 → 87th in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Massachusetts average (68% vs 42% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 13% of Massachusetts high schools

✓99% graduate within 4 years

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped from its 92nd-percentile peak (2023) to 87th (2026)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school68%

District avg66%

Massachusetts avg42%

47^th of 353

Massachusetts public high schools ?

Top 13%▲ up 10 pts since 2016

From top 23% (2016) to top 13% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Massachusetts High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

33^rd of 351North Reading among Massachusetts districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2026	88.9	47 of 353	86.7%	★★★★☆
2025	91.2	40 of 349	88.5%	★★★★☆
2024	90.3	33 of 348	90.5%	★★★★★
2023	91.4	27 of 347	92.2%	★★★★★
2022	76.6	87 of 342	74.6%	★★★★☆
2021	78.4	65 of 285	77.2%	★★★★☆
2019	81.7	57 of 351	83.8%	★★★★☆
2018	76.5	73 of 345	78.8%	★★★★☆
2017	79.7	48 of 348	86.2%	★★★★☆
2016	75.2	81 of 351	76.9%	★★★★☆
2015	76.9	60 of 354	83.1%	★★★★☆
2014	75.1	79 of 347	77.2%	★★★★☆
2013	76.7	56 of 344	83.7%	★★★★☆
2012	77.0	61 of 340	82.1%	★★★★☆
2011	82.0	37 of 340	89.1%	★★★★☆
2010	82.9	41 of 335	87.8%	★★★★☆
2009	78.9	62 of 322	80.7%	★★★★☆
2008	82.6	46 of 319	85.6%	★★★★☆
2007	70.3	93 of 316	70.6%	★★★★☆
2006	77.2	87 of 314	72.3%	★★★★☆
2005	76.5	79 of 311	74.6%	★★★★☆
2004	77.1	82 of 307	73.3%	★★★★☆
2003	85.2	46 of 304	84.9%	★★★★☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2026	83.1	16 of 94	83.0%	★★★★☆
2024	81.9	17 of 98	82.7%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2022	79.9	48 of 295	83.7%	★★★★☆
2021	86.7	24 of 202	88.1%	★★★★☆
2019	68.4	67 of 299	77.6%	★★★★☆
2018	70.8	75 of 299	74.9%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2026	87.8	44 of 340	87.1%	★★★★☆
2025	92.7	30 of 337	91.1%	★★★★★
2024	86.1	49 of 342	85.7%	★★★★☆
2023	91.9	21 of 339	93.8%	★★★★★
2022	75.8	88 of 340	74.1%	★★★★☆
2021	74.8	80 of 281	71.5%	★★★★☆
2019	81.5	56 of 342	83.6%	★★★★☆
2018	72.4	101 of 339	70.2%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2026	77.8	57 of 340	83.2%	★★★★☆
2025	88.1	38 of 334	88.6%	★★★★☆
2024	91.4	25 of 338	92.6%	★★★★★
2023	90.8	19 of 338	94.4%	★★★★★
2022	50.1	165 of 332	50.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	59.6	88 of 253	65.2%	★★★☆☆
2019	65.3	106 of 330	67.9%	★★★☆☆
2018	74.5	77 of 330	76.7%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2026	87.5	48 of 344	86.0%	★★★★☆
2025	87.7	49 of 339	85.5%	★★★★☆
2024	93.0	22 of 342	93.6%	★★★★★
2023	90.1	39 of 343	88.6%	★★★★☆
2022	74.3	94 of 339	72.3%	★★★★☆
2021	80.1	58 of 281	79.4%	★★★★☆
2019	80.6	61 of 346	82.4%	★★★★☆
2018	78.8	59 of 343	82.8%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2026	74.8	50 of 298	83.2%	★★★★☆
2025	95.3	17 of 302	94.4%	★★★★★
2024	96.4	18 of 289	93.8%	★★★★★
2023	93.1	23 of 301	92.4%	★★★★★
2022	59.1	132 of 339	61.1%	★★★☆☆
2021	71.2	54 of 268	79.9%	★★★★☆
2019	59.1	127 of 348	63.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	65.7	107 of 344	68.9%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Massachusetts percentile	Rating
2026	80.2	58 of 302	80.8%	★★★★☆
2025	85.5	51 of 298	82.9%	★★★★☆
2024	85.2	41 of 302	86.4%	★★★★☆
2023	86.4	47 of 301	84.4%	★★★★☆
2022	70.0	90 of 300	70.0%	★★★★☆
2021	69.0	80 of 249	67.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	76.5	70 of 302	76.8%	★★★★☆
2018	71.0	82 of 303	72.9%	★★★★☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Female (2026)87th percentile~ school

Male (2026)86th percentile~ school

Disabled (2022)84th percentile+9 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)83rd percentile-3 vs school

Special Education (2026)83rd percentile-3 vs school

Asian (2026)83rd percentile-4 vs school

White (2026)81st percentile-6 vs school

By subject vs Massachusetts (2025-2026) ?

Mathematics70%+26 vs state

Biology70%+32 vs state

Science69%+28 vs state

English Language Arts62%+16 vs state

1.0

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What people are saying

by a student
Friday, September 18, 2015

Low standards all around. Now that I'm in college and I'm up against students from a wide variety of different high schools, I really see how poorly I stack up against them, even though I was a great student at NRHS. The school doesn't encourage students to challenge themselves. In the challenging classes--AP classes, especially physics and chemistry, many students don't even pass the AP exam. Too many students go crying to their parents who call the teachers and argue for higher grades. Great SAT scores are a rarity. Also, most school clubs (except drama club) aren't taken seriously and don't do anything except give a few kids leadership roles for college applications. Maybe it's because students here all have that "learning is uncool" mentality, so a Model United Nations, science club, school paper, etc. would be considered dorky. I believe a few of these clubs do exist, but membership count is very low and many students consider it "really uncool" to join these clubs. The popular clubs are ones like Interact Club, a community service club that has very few meetings and activities, and really only exists for kids to put on their college applications. Looking back, what really bothers me is that I very rarely saw students with passion for the subjects they're learning--I didn't know this existed until I got to college. Going above the bare minimum is considered odd and just not a common thing. Students here rarely put forth an effort to pursue a challenging subject they are interested in. If you are very passionate about some subject, please know that the other students will not understand why, and the spirit of the school will strongly diminish that passion of yours. Students from NRHS generally go to sub-par universities--Guidance department is absolutely horrible and useless. I had a poor experience at NRHS and I am unsatisfied with my education. I did very well in NRHS and I am working very hard in college, but I see that NRHS's low standards are hurting my performance in college. Close Quote

Schools Near North Reading High

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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 Physics (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	Directly certified (2024-25)	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 10th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 10th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Science 10th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Biology End of Course	MCAS Next Generation Physics End of Course	Total
North Reading High	Public	9-12	189 Park Street	North Reading	01864	Middlesex County	North Reading	No	No	No	No	(978) 664-7800	652	64	10.1	11.8%	550 (84.4%)	3 (0.5%)	32 (4.9%)	43 (6.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (3.4%)	88.9	47^th of 353 public high schools	86.7%		91.2	40^th of 349 public high schools	88.5%	7	62.0	69.9	68.8	69.9		$22,072
Reading Memorial High	Public	9-12	62 Oakland Rd	Reading	01867	Middlesex County	Reading	No	No	No	No	(781) 944-8200	1,094	90	12.1	12.1%	925 (84.6%)	45 (4.1%)	47 (4.3%)	41 (3.7%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (2.7%)	77.4	78^th of 353 public high schools	77.9%		79.8	80^th of 349 public high schools	77.1%	2	65.1	62.3	48.2	51.5		$18,964
Lynnfield High	Public	9-12	275 Essex Street	Lynnfield	01940	Essex County	Lynnfield	No	No	No	No	(781) 334-5820	588	49	11.9	11.6%	457 (77.7%)	9 (1.5%)	56 (9.5%)	47 (8.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (3.2%)	74.1	90^th of 353 public high schools	74.5%		87.6	55^th of 349 public high schools	84.2%	35	59.4	62.7	45.2	51.2		$21,029
Wilmington High	Public	9-12	159 Church Street	Wilmington	01887	Middlesex County	Wilmington	No	No	No	No	(978) 694-6060	619	68	9.1	14.9%	490 (79.2%)	10 (1.6%)	44 (7.1%)	53 (8.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (3.4%)	74.5	88^th of 353 public high schools	75.1%		76	85^th of 349 public high schools	75.6%	3	55.2	57.4	52.6	53.0		$26,051
Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School	Public	9-12	565 Maple Street	Danvers	01923	Essex County	Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School District	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 304-4700	1,830	143	12.7	24.9%	1,310 (71.6%)	49 (2.7%)	358 (19.6%)	31 (1.7%)	6 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	69 (3.8%)	61.6	128^th of 353 public high schools	63.7%		63.5	133^rd of 349 public high schools	61.9%	5	52.4	40.1	42.7	48.6		$23,669
Wakefield Memorial High	Public	9-12	60 Farm Street	Wakefield	01880	Middlesex County	Wakefield	No	No	No	Yes	(781) 246-6440	854	81	10.5	16.9%	676 (79.2%)	31 (3.6%)	81 (9.5%)	33 (3.9%)	2 (0.2%)	2 (0.2%)	26 (3.0%)	85.3	56^th of 353 public high schools	84.1%		73.3	97^th of 349 public high schools	72.2%	41	62.8	62.0	59.6	71.1		$22,264
Northeast Metro Regional Vocational	Public	9-12	100 Hemlock Rd	Wakefield	01880	Middlesex County	Northeast Metropolitan Regional Vocational Technical	No	No	No	Yes	(781) 246-0810	1,381	129	10.7	49.5%	577 (41.8%)	72 (5.2%)	665 (48.2%)	18 (1.3%)	9 (0.7%)	1 (0.1%)	30 (2.2%)	36.2	222^nd of 353 public high schools	37.1%		48.9	189^th of 349 public high schools	45.8%	33	37.5	34.8	29.7		27.5	$27,370
Peabody Veterans Memorial High	Public	9-12	485 Lowell Street	Peabody	01960	Essex County	Peabody	No	No	No	Yes	(978) 536-4500	1,333	129	10.2	46.1%	811 (60.8%)	102 (7.7%)	359 (26.9%)	21 (1.6%)	5 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	33 (2.5%)	24.9	270^th of 353 public high schools	23.5%		20.3	285^th of 349 public high schools	18.3%	15	28.2	24.4	26.0	22.5		$20,870
Masconomet Regional High School	Public	9-12	20 Endicott Rd	Boxford	01921	Essex County	Masconomet	No	No	No	No	(978) 887-2323	924	76	12.2	8.5%	812 (87.9%)	9 (1.0%)	37 (4.0%)	31 (3.4%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (3.6%)	76.6	81^st of 353 public high schools	77.1%		88.2	51^st of 349 public high schools	85.4%	30	55.1	63.8	57.4	49.6		$24,896
Andover High	Public	9-12	80 Shawsheen Road	Andover	01810	Essex County	Andover	No	No	No	No	(978) 247-5500	1,609	125	12.8	11.8%	1,012 (62.9%)	49 (3.0%)	141 (8.8%)	343 (21.3%)	4 (0.2%)	2 (0.1%)	56 (3.5%)	85	57^th of 353 public high schools	83.9%		90.9	41^st of 349 public high schools	88.3%	16	62.4	73.8	57.8		64.3	$21,433

Frequently Asked Questions about North Reading High

How many students attend North Reading High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 652 students attended North Reading High.

What is the racial makeup of North Reading High?

Students at North Reading High are 84% White, 7% Asian, 5% Hispanic, 3% Two or more races.

What schools feed into North Reading High?

North Reading High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : E Ethel Little School
Elementary : J Turner Hood
Elementary : L D Batchelder
Middle : North Reading Middle

Is North Reading High a good school?

North Reading High ranks 47^th of 353 Massachusetts high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What district is North Reading High in?

North Reading

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Latest Massachusetts data All new data »

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesMar 5, 2026

2024–25 MCAS Next Generation test scoresSep 29, 2025

2023–24 school spending dataMay 8, 2025

2023–24 dropout rates & graduation ratesMay 1, 2025

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.