Education (K-12) · 2024–25 school year
Massachusetts Public Schools
Public K-12 education statistics for Massachusetts — 915,932 students in 1,844 schools in 2024–25, with enrollment history back to 1986 and county-level detail from 2002.
| Statistic | Value | School year |
|---|---|---|
| Student enrollment | 915,932 | 2024–25 |
| Public schools | 1,844 | 2024–25 |
| Teachers (full-time equivalent) | 77,143 | 2024–25 |
| Pupil-teacher ratio | 11.9 | 2024–25 |
| Free/reduced-price lunch students | 39.9% | 2014–15 |
| School poverty rate (MEPS) | 10.2% | 2022–23 |
| Charter school enrollment | 5.3% | 2024–25 |
| High school graduation rate | 89.3% | 2024–25 |
| Math proficiency (of tested) | 40.7% | 2021–22 |
| Reading proficiency (of tested) | 43.7% | 2021–22 |
| Chronically absent students | 26.7% | 2021–22 |
| White students | 51.4% | 2024–25 |
| Black students | 10.2% | 2024–25 |
| Hispanic students | 25.8% | 2024–25 |
| Asian students | 7.5% | 2024–25 |
Not every statistic is collected every year — each row shows its most recent available school year (amber when older than 2024–25). Blank/absent means not collected or below reliability floors, never zero. Some universal-meals states no longer report free/reduced-price lunch — school poverty (MEPS) is the better lens there. A 0% charter share in a state without a charter-school law is a true zero.
Massachusetts state report card
Outcomes reported directly by Massachusetts’s education agency — often more current than the federal series above. Because each state uses its own tests, definitions, and reporting windows, these figures are not comparable state-to-state; each row notes how Massachusetts measures it.
| Measure | Latest | Trend | School year |
|---|---|---|---|
College enrollment rate How Massachusetts measures thisPercent of SY 2024-25 (Class of 2025) high school graduates attending institutions of higher education - all colleges and universities, public and private, 2- and 4-year (National Student Clearinghouse match); DESE 'Graduates Attending Institutions of Higher Education' report, All Students, State Totals row. Denominator is all 71,405 graduates in the school year (not the 4-year cohort). | 57.7% | 2024–25 | |
Dropout rate How Massachusetts measures thisPercent of the 4-year adjusted cohort (Class of 2025) that dropped out within the 4-year window ('% Dropped Out' column of the DESE Graduation Rates report, State Totals row). Cohort-based dropout rate, NOT an annual event dropout rate. | 5.8% | 2024–25 | |
Math proficiency (state test) How Massachusetts measures thisPercent of tested students scoring Meeting or Exceeding Expectations (M+E) on the spring 2025 Next Generation MCAS Mathematics, grades 3-8 and 10 combined (all MCAS-tested grades). Published state components: grades 3-8 = 41% (161,477 of 396,348); grade 10 = 45% (29,927 of 67,096). | 41.3% | 2024–25 | |
Reading / ELA proficiency (state test) How Massachusetts measures thisPercent of tested students scoring Meeting or Exceeding Expectations (M+E) on the spring 2025 Next Generation MCAS ELA, grades 3-8 and 10 combined (all MCAS-tested grades). Published state components: grades 3-8 = 42% (164,587 of 396,309); grade 10 = 51% (34,361 of 67,825). | 42.9% | 2024–25 | |
Chronic absenteeism (recent) How Massachusetts measures thisPercent of students chronically absent, defined as absent 10% or more of their days in membership (standard federal definition); DESE 2024-25 end-of-year Attendance report (district export), 'Chronically Absent (10% or more)' column, State Totals row, All Students, all grades. | 18.8% | 2024–25 |
Source: Massachusetts Department of Education (public reporting), 2026 collection. Not comparable across states — proficiency reflects different assessments and cut scores; graduation, dropout, and college-going use each state’s own cohort definitions and windows. Absent rows mean the state doesn’t publish that measure in a comparable file.
Massachusetts schools by county
Students enrolled, 2024–25.
Massachusetts schools — FAQ
How many students attend public school in Massachusetts?+
915,932 students were enrolled in Massachusetts's 1,844 public K-12 schools in the 2024–25 school year, taught by 77,143 full-time-equivalent teachers (NCES Common Core of Data).
What is Massachusetts's high school graduation rate?+
89.3% of Massachusetts's adjusted cohort graduated in the 2024–25 school year — reported by Massachusetts's education agency (its 4-year ACGR, more current than the federal series, which lags to 2021–22). Graduation rates run from 2010–11 onward.
Where does this data come from?+
Core statistics (enrollment, schools, teachers, poverty, demographics) come from the National Center for Education Statistics — the Common Core of Data, EDFacts, and the Civil Rights Data Collection. The most recent graduation rates and the state report-card outcomes (proficiency, college-going, dropout, chronic absenteeism) come directly from state education agencies, which publish sooner than the federal series. Full source and license details are on the methodology page. pumsdata is independent and not affiliated with NCES or any state agency.
Other states
Data: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics (CCD, EDFacts, CRDC) and ED Data Express, plus current-year graduation and report-card outcomes from state education agencies. Full source and license details on the methodology page.