Massachusetts’ ‘Best’ School Districts For 2024

The summer season is over and school is back in session.

Students, parents and school district employees from Pittsfield to Boston are transitioning away from lazy days at the beach to a more structured schedule back in the classroom.

It's time to get serious about learning.

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The year 2024 could be a consequential one for education in Massachusetts. Voters will be asked in November to decide whether to keep or dump the MCAS exam as a graduation requirement. Expect a lot of debate between now and then.

Students and staff at New Bedford High School are getting used to passing through weapons detection systems on their way into the building in the morning. Fall River and Taunton already use weapons detection systems at their high schools.

Pilot programs for controlling cell phone use during the school day are in place at Normandin and Roosevelt Middle Schools. Dartmouth already has a cell phone policy in place.

As we begin the new school year, Niche, which ranks schools and districts based on statistics and reviews, lists what it considers the "Best School Districts in Massachusetts" for 2024.

Not one area district makes the top 25.

From the 25th to the 1st, the Niche list reads this way, Duxbury Public Schools, Medfield Public Schools, Natick Public Schools, Lynnfield Public Schools, Acton-Boxborough Regional School District, Bedford Public Schools, Cambridge Public Schools, Amherst-Pelham Regional School District, Harvard Public Schools, Westwood Public Schools, Needham Public Schools, Sharon Public Schools, Westford Public Schools, Shrewsbury Public Schools, Westborough Public Schools, Winchester Public Schools, Lexington Public Schools, Wayland Public Schools, Belmont Public Schools, Wellesley Public Schools, Newton Public Schools, Dover-Sherborn Regional School District, Public Schools of Brookline, Weston Public Schools, and Hopkinton Public Schools.

None of the 2024 top five high schools, middle schools or elementary schools in Massachusetts are located within miles of the SouthCoast. Boston.com has a list of each.