Again this year, the Bromfield School is among the top 10 Massachusetts high schools, according to rankings in both U.S. News & World Report and Boston magazine.
In its rankings for the 2023-24 school year, U.S. News placed Bromfield third among 405 high schools in Massachusetts, and 154th among more than 17,500 schools nationwide. Boston magazine’s September issue ranked Bromfield eighth among school districts within, or partly within, Interstate 495.
“We are proud of the education provided by our educators to our students,” Dr. Linda Dwight, superintendent of schools, said in an email. She also noted, “The rankings are only one measure of this success.”
Bromfield shares its high standing with some of the same nearby schools as in previous years—Weston High School, Acton-Boxborough Regional High School, and Dover-Sherborn Regional High School. (See table on page 3.)
But rankings can be volatile in surveys that include so many schools. Very small differences in standardized test scores can lead to a dramatic rise or fall in a school’s standings. So Bromfield’s high rankings over more than a decade indicate consistent academic achievement, even when the yearly number has bobbed up and down.
Both ranking lists depend heavily on students’ performance on state standardized assessments, which for Bromfield is the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, or MCAS. This year 92% of Bromfield students scored proficient or higher in English language arts on the MCAS, which was the highest percentage for any of the top schools listed in Boston magazine. In math, 82% scored proficient or higher, and in science 81% did so.
Both magazines’ listings also consider a school’s graduation rate and what percentage of students take Advanced Placement courses and score well on the AP exams.
The two lists differ in other respects, however. U.S. News includes charter schools, while Boston magazine does not. Boston magazine also considers class size, student/teacher ratios, and SAT scores. Each magazine weights the factors according to its own complex system. As a result, standings can differ considerably on the two lists. For example, Boston Latin School, which tops the U.S. News list, ranks 25th with Boston magazine.
Massachusetts leads the country in the U.S. News rankings, with nearly half the state’s high schools in the top quarter of schools ranked nationally. The complete list by state is available at www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/massa chusetts/rankings.
U.S. News & World Report rankings
- Boston Latin School
- Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School
- The Bromfield School
- Sturgis Charter Public School
- Dover-Sherborn Regional High School
- Lexington High School
- Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School
- Belmont High School
- Acton-Boxborough Regional High School
- Weston High School
Boston magazine rankings
- Weston High School
- Manchester-Essex Regional High School
- Dover-Sherborn High School
- Wayland High School
- Acton-Boxborough Regional High School
- Littleton High School
- Westborough High School
- The Bromfield School
- Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School
- Winchester High School
