Best Public Schools in Somerville, MA

Summary:

The city of Somerville, Massachusetts is home to 11 schools, including 8 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 2 high schools. The schools in this diverse district demonstrate a wide range of academic performance, with some standout schools like John F. Kennedy Elementary and Benjamin G. Brown Elementary consistently performing above district and state averages on MCAS tests. In contrast, the alternative Full Circle High School struggles academically, ranking in the bottom 2% of Massachusetts high schools.

The data reveals significant performance gaps between the highest and lowest-performing schools in Somerville. For example, on the 2023-2024 10th grade MCAS ELA test, Somerville High School had a 54.9% proficiency rate, while Full Circle High School had only a 10% proficiency rate. However, the data does not show a clear correlation between per-student spending and academic performance, as some of the highest-performing schools have relatively lower per-student spending compared to lower-performing schools.

Overall, the Somerville school district offers a mix of high-quality and low-performing schools, highlighting the need to address achievement gaps and ensure equitable access to quality education for all students in the area.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2024)				Ranking (2023)				MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts (2024)								MCAS Next Generation Mathematics (2024)								MCAS Next Generation Science (2024)				MCAS Next Generation Biology (2024)	MCAS Next Generation Physics (2024)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2021)
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	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Statewide Rank (2023)	State Percentile (2023)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 3rd Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 4th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 5th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 6th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 7th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 8th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts 10th Grade	MCAS Next Generation English Language Arts All Grades	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 3rd Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 4th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 5th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 6th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 7th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 8th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics 10th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Mathematics All Grades	MCAS Next Generation Science 5th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Science 8th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Science 10th Grade	MCAS Next Generation Science All Grades	MCAS Next Generation Biology All Grades	MCAS Next Generation Physics All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
West Somerville Neighborhood	Public	PK, KG-8	177 Powderhouse Blvd	Somerville	02144	Middlesex County	Somerville	No	No	No	Yes	(617) 625-6600	371	28	13.1		232 (62.5%)	36 (9.7%)	37 (10.0%)	18 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	44 (11.9%)	45.4	515^th of 916 public elementary schools	43.8%		55.5	425^th of 928 public elementary schools	54.2%	90	39.5	23.8	37.5	59.5	35.7	44.7		39.7	26.3	33.3	28.1	60.5	44.2	55.0		41.6	41.9	47.4		44.9			$20,378	$912	$19,466
Arthur D Healey	Public	PK, KG-8	5 Meacham Street	Somerville	02145	Middlesex County	Somerville	No	No	No	Yes	(617) 629-5420	506	38	13.2		141 (27.9%)	76 (15.0%)	251 (49.6%)	15 (3.0%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	20 (4.0%)	27.3	663^rd of 916 public elementary schools	27.6%		34.2	626^th of 928 public elementary schools	32.5%	37	21.2	23.1	30.7	60.5	28.6	26.2		31.0	13.5	25.5	14.3	37.2	28.6	21.4		22.7	25.4	33.3		28.6			$22,088	$921	$21,167
Benjamin G Brown	Public	K-5	201 Willow Avenue	Somerville	02144	Middlesex County	Somerville	No	No	No	No	(617) 629-5620	211	13	16.0		127 (60.2%)	14 (6.6%)	15 (7.1%)	20 (9.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (16.6%)	86.2	113^th of 916 public elementary schools	87.7%		83.8	148^th of 928 public elementary schools	84.1%	35	86.7	63.2	82.1					76.0	73.3	42.1	72.4					60.8	82.8			82.8			$18,254	$696	$17,558
E Somerville Community	Public	PK, KG-8	50 Cross Street	Somerville	02145	Middlesex County	Somerville	No	No	No	Yes	(617) 625-6600	729	54	13.4		149 (20.4%)	35 (4.8%)	487 (66.8%)	36 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	19 (2.6%)	20.1	738^th of 916 public elementary schools	19.4%		20.4	740^th of 928 public elementary schools	20.3%	2	24.1	18.6	28.1	25.3	28.6	48.2		28.7	20.0	14.9	23.6	20.3	24.7	28.4		21.9	30.3	32.1		31.2			$18,914	$980	$17,934
John F Kennedy	Public	PK, KG-8	5 Cherry Street	Somerville	02144	Middlesex County	Somerville	No	No	No	Yes	(617) 629-5440	440	33	13.2		297 (67.5%)	19 (4.3%)	64 (14.5%)	30 (6.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (6.6%)	81.6	162^nd of 916 public elementary schools	82.3%		85.8	127^th of 928 public elementary schools	86.3%	35	81.6	56.3	56.4	57.8	71.4	82.1		68.0	79.5	57.1	61.5	42.2	68.8	71.4		63.4	63.2	82.1		74.5			$21,264	$912	$20,351
Albert F. Argenziano School at Lincoln Park	Public	PK, KG-8	290 Washington Street	Somerville	02143	Middlesex County	Somerville	No	No	No	Yes	(617) 629-5460	544	44	12.4		241 (44.3%)	28 (5.1%)	194 (35.7%)	40 (7.4%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	37 (6.8%)	47.5	497^th of 916 public elementary schools	45.7%		39.4	569^th of 928 public elementary schools	38.7%	72	44.0	40.4	44.6	47.6	27.1	28.6		39.1	37.3	34.0	28.6	35.7	33.3	34.7		34.1	42.9	44.9		43.8			$19,380	$1,058	$18,322
Somerville High	Public	9-12	81 Highland Avenue	Somerville	02143	Middlesex County	Somerville	No	No	No	No	(617) 625-6600	1,310	134	9.8		442 (33.7%)	122 (9.3%)	618 (47.2%)	75 (5.7%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	33 (2.5%)	44	212^th of 348 public high schools	39.1%		45.8	201^st of 347 public high schools	42.1%	11							54.9								39.5				44.2		45.9		$22,926	$766	$22,160
Winter Hill Community	Public	PK, KG-8	115 Sycamore Street	Somerville	02145	Middlesex County	Somerville	No	No	No	Yes	(617) 629-5680	422	46	9.2		136 (32.2%)	40 (9.5%)	208 (49.3%)	19 (4.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	17 (4.0%)	23.7	701^st of 916 public elementary schools	23.5%		18	766^th of 928 public elementary schools	17.5%	65	26.7	35.7	32.1	17.9	9.1	13.7		21.9	24.4	19.1	28.6	21.4	6.8	6.0		16.5	17.9	20.0		19.2			$25,632	$2,963	$22,669
Next Wave Junior High	Public	7-8	81 Highland Ave	Somerville	02143	Middlesex County	Somerville	No	No	No	Yes	(617) 629-5640	15	6	2.7		2 (13.3%)	4 (26.7%)	8 (53.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (6.7%)								(n/a)								0.0								0.0							$58,190	$913	$57,277
Full Circle High School	Public	9-12	81 Highland Ave	Somerville	02143	Middlesex County	Somerville	No	No	No	Yes	(617) 629-5640	54	13	4.1		14 (25.9%)	8 (14.8%)	29 (53.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (5.6%)								(n/a)							10.0								0.0							0.0	$27,719	$783	$26,936
Capuano Early Childhood Center	Public	PK-K	150 Glen Street	Somerville	02145	Middlesex County	Somerville	No	No	No	Yes	(617) 629-5480	213	22	9.8		82 (38.5%)	16 (7.5%)	69 (32.4%)	19 (8.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	25 (11.7%)								(n/a)																							$31,222	$3,396	$27,826

Cities Near Somerville

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Cambridge	0.69 mi	20	131^st
Medford	1.36 mi	8	247^th
Charlestown	2 mi	3	268^th
Allston	2.15 mi	2	326^th
Boston	2.25 mi	17	297^th

See the top MA Massachusetts cities

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.