Just to get everybody revved up for the start of the school year, Boston Magazine has released its annual rankings of the top public high schools in the Greater Boston area. Natick came in #44 among 150 schools.
Nearby grade 9-12 schools that Boston Magazine had higher in its rankings:
- Weston High School took the #1 spot
- Dover Sherborn came in at #3
- Wayland was #4
- Acton-Boxborough, #5
- Lincoln-Sudbury #9.
- Winchester High School, #10
- Wellesley High School, #11
For those keeping score at home, Natick was #36 in the rankings in 2022; and #39 in 2021.
Boston Magazine says they comb through data from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for information on MCAS and SAT scores, and other data. They also take into account median household income and home prices for each high school’s town(s), as well as teacher-to-student ratio to number of sports teams and clubs. More about their methodology here.
It’s the rare school administrator who will crow over a high ranking or gnash teeth (publicly, anyway) over a low one. This year’s #7 could be next year’s #17. Those who look closely at the math say the margin of difference between the top schools is razor thin. But that thin #1 does look pretty, doesn’t it, Weston?
And what, pray-tell, is the genuine social benefit to the people of Massachusetts of this magazine’s school rankings?