Melrose High

Summary:

Melrose High is a public high school serving 926 students in grades 9-12 in Melrose, Massachusetts, which is part of the Melrose school district. The school consistently ranks in the top 20-25% of Massachusetts high schools, with impressive academic performance, low dropout rates, and high graduation rates.

Melrose High's MCAS proficiency rates are significantly higher than the state averages across all subject areas, including a 78.85% proficiency rate in 10th grade ELA compared to the state's 56.86%. The school maintains an exceptional 4-year graduation rate of over 97%, well above the state average. However, while the school's Hispanic and White student subgroups perform exceptionally well, ranking in the top 25% and top 20% of Massachusetts high schools respectively, the performance of African American and Asian students lags behind, ranking in the bottom 50% and bottom 30% of the state.

Compared to nearby schools, Melrose High's academic performance is generally stronger than Everett High and Classical High, but falls short of the even higher-performing Winchester High School and Wakefield Memorial High. This highlights the importance of considering the broader regional context when evaluating a school's performance and identifying areas for improvement.


Detail:

Public 9-12

 360 Lynn Fells Parkway
       Melrose, MA  02176


(781) 979-2200

District: Melrose

SchoolDigger Rank:
67th of 348 Massachusetts High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $14,432 Help


Feeder schools for Melrose High:

Elementary:    Early Childhood Center
    Herbert Clark Hoover
    Horace Mann
    Lincoln
    More...
Middle:    Melrose Middle

Student/teacher ratio:  12.2 Help
Number of students:  959

Racial breakdown:

White:
72.5%
African American:
9.4%
Hispanic:
6.9%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  19.2% Help


 See top rated Massachusetts high schools

 Compare Melrose High to nearby high schools!

Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Melrose High ranks better than 80.7% of high schools in Massachusetts. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 82.91. (See more...)
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The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at Melrose High who earn a standard high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade.
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The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.
Student Body
Help
Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (72.5%), African American (9.4%), Hispanic (6.9%). (See more...)
Teachers
Help
Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Melrose High is 12.2. (See more...)
Help
Compare Melrose High employs 78.1 full-time teachers.
Finance
Help
Compare Details The average total spent per student at Melrose High is $14,432.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Melrose High:

SchoolDigger ranks Melrose High 67th of 348 Massachusetts public high schools. (See Melrose High in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
Asian students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Melrose:

SchoolDigger ranks Melrose 45th of 351 Massachusetts school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

Read all reviews and ratings detail for Melrose High.

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Rank History for Melrose High

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Melrose High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools MA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2003 74.51 92nd 304 69.7%
2004 65.37 122nd 307 60.3%
2005 57.38 163rd 311 47.6%
2006 66.22 135th 314 57.0%
2007 69.68 95th 316 69.9%
2008 66.39 124th 319 61.1%
2009 66.39 135th 322 58.1%
2010 59.16 178th 335 46.9%
2011 57.12 186th 340 45.3%
2012 53.99 206th 340 39.4%
2013 59.26 180th 344 47.7%
2014 71.43 110th 347 68.3%
2015 69.16 129th 354 63.6%
2016 66.73 134th 351 61.8%
2017 71.95 102nd 348 70.7%
2018 73.37 99th 345 71.3%
2019 78.14 79th 351 77.5%
2021 72.61 90th 285 68.4%
2022 80.09 70th 342 79.5%
2023 81.79 65th 347 81.3%
2024 82.91 67th 348 80.7%
See the entire list of Massachusetts High School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Melrose High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools MA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 62.52 29th 55 47.3%
2023 69.19 25th 82 69.5%
See the entire list of Best Massachusetts High Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Melrose High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools MA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 59.05 138th 344 59.9%
2019 65.06 98th 348 71.8%
2021 53.31 105th 268 60.8%
2022 60.31 125th 339 63.1%
2023 88.61 33rd 301 89.0%
2024 69.44 71st 289 75.4%
See the entire list of Best Massachusetts High Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Melrose High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools MA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 55.11 164th 330 50.3%
2019 57.39 139th 330 57.9%
2021 52.50 111th 253 56.1%
2022 69.42 88th 332 73.5%
2023 50.45 169th 338 50.0%
2024 61.74 119th 338 64.8%
See the entire list of Best Massachusetts High Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Melrose High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools MA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 71.43 112th 339 67.0%
2019 75.32 90th 342 73.7%
2021 75.27 79th 281 71.9%
2022 82.45 57th 340 83.2%
2023 79.11 78th 339 77.0%
2024 78.50 86th 342 74.9%
See the entire list of Best Massachusetts High Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Melrose High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools MA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 65.10 92nd 299 69.2%
2019 79.53 48th 299 83.9%
2021 68.33 49th 202 75.7%
2022 74.20 57th 295 80.7%
See the entire list of Best Massachusetts High Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Melrose High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools MA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 73.43 94th 343 72.6%
2019 78.97 79th 346 77.2%
2021 67.64 101st 281 64.1%
2022 74.98 91st 339 73.2%
2023 82.15 63rd 343 81.6%
2024 84.71 51st 342 85.1%
See the entire list of Best Massachusetts High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Melrose High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools MA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 62.52 54th 91 40.7%
2019 43.25 66th 97 32.0%
2023 44.35 66th 96 31.3%
2024 64.34 47th 98 52.0%
See the entire list of Best Massachusetts High Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at Melrose High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools MA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 54.47 61st 134 54.5%
2019 51.35 65th 137 52.6%
2021 50.86 39th 94 58.5%
2022 64.21 33rd 133 75.2%
2023 39.95 88th 142 38.0%
2024 22.11 128th 160 20.0%
See the entire list of Best Massachusetts High Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Melrose High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools MA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 64.47 71st 193 63.2%
2022 65.33 71st 217 67.3%
2023 91.39 21st 241 91.3%
2024 82.21 42nd 249 83.1%
See the entire list of Best Massachusetts High Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Melrose High

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools MA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 71.94 75th 303 75.2%
2019 77.24 67th 302 77.8%
2021 71.19 74th 249 70.3%
2022 83.24 45th 300 85.0%
2023 80.45 58th 301 80.7%
2024 81.45 57th 302 81.1%
See the entire list of Best Massachusetts High Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Melrose High Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 




Data source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 1)
0%

0%

0%

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100%

  

Reviews:
by a parent
Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Open Quote Melrose High School is a terrible school and an embarassment to the city of Melrose. If you live in Melrose and are considering sending your son or daughter to this, your local public high school, don't!!! The principal thinks his primary focus is to work on public relations, not on education. The faculty are, for the most part, lazy and incompetent, counting the days until retirement. The morale is down the drain. Please send your child to a private school, or move to a better school district, if at all possible. With the current administration, there really is no hope for improvement in the short term. If you are considering buying a house in Melrose - which is, apart from the high school, a nice suburb with decent school system - I would strongly urge you to look elsewhere. I wish I did. Close Quote



Enrollment information for Melrose High

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Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 961 32 14 7 0 n/a n/a 0 1014
1989 892 24 14 4 0 n/a n/a 0 934
1990 1098 41 20 5 0 n/a n/a 0 1164
1991 1051 38 16 9 0 n/a n/a 0 1114
1992 1033 31 13 2 0 n/a n/a 0 1079
1993 967 35 14 6 0 n/a n/a 0 1022
1994 906 33 14 14 0 n/a n/a 0 967
1995 882 26 10 5 0 n/a n/a 0 923
1996 882 26 10 5 0 n/a n/a 0 923
1997 914 38 8 11 1 n/a n/a 0 972
1998 938 40 9 5 1 n/a n/a 0 993
1999 895 41 13 12 5 n/a n/a 0 966
2000 854 57 16 17 2 n/a n/a 0 946
2001 903 29 18 8 0 n/a n/a -1 957
2002 904 55 21 7 0 n/a n/a 0 987
2003 904 55 21 7 0 n/a n/a 0 987
2004 861 71 22 17 0 n/a n/a 0 971
2005 815 65 27 23 2 n/a n/a 0 932
2006 779 63 25 31 4 n/a n/a 4 906
2007 775 59 22 27 6 n/a n/a 7 896
2008 781 63 12 22 4 n/a n/a 24 906
2009 799 62 19 20 5 5 17 0 927
2010 814 66 24 19 4 8 16 0 951
2011 816 67 38 23 5 24 11 0 984
2012 818 68 40 53 3 22 22 0 1026
2013 758 62 33 42 1 15 31 0 942
2014 758 62 38 33 0 5 37 0 933
2015 766 72 36 30 0 0 29 0 933
2016 783 74 33 32 0 1 25 0 948
2017 795 77 40 45 0 0 31 0 988
2018 804 85 40 45 0 0 28 0 1002
2019 826 65 47 40 0 0 36 0 1014
2020 790 60 54 41 0 0 41 0 986
2021 741 67 44 39 0 0 38 0 929
2022 709 72 47 47 0 0 46 2 923
2023 692 73 50 66 0 0 41 4 926
2024 695 90 59 66 1 1 43 4 959

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Melrose High

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 1014 n/a n/a n/a
1989 934 n/a n/a n/a
1990 1164 n/a n/a n/a
1991 1114 n/a n/a n/a
1992 1079 n/a n/a n/a
1993 1022 n/a 0.0 n/a
1994 967 n/a n/a n/a
1995 923 n/a 0.0 n/a
1996 923 n/a 0.0 n/a
1997 972 n/a 0.0 n/a
1998 993 n/a 0.0 n/a
1999 966 n/a 0.0 5.4
2000 946 n/a 0.0 5.6
2001 957 n/a 0.0 4.8
2002 987 n/a n/a 6.4
2003 987 n/a n/a 6.4
2004 971 62.0 15.7 3.9
2005 932 69.7 13.4 6.4
2006 906 64.0 14.2 9.3
2007 896 65.0 13.8 12.4
2008 906 65.4 13.9 13.8
2009 927 65.0 14.3 13.8
2010 951 63.0 15.0 12.5
2011 984 65.9 14.9 17.4
2012 1026 68.1 15.0 16.8
2013 942 71.5 13.1 19.5
2014 933 69.6 13.3 17.9
2015 933 66.0 14.1 19.2
2016 948 67.0 14.1 n/a
2017 988 69.8 14.1 n/a
2018 1002 69.9 14.3 n/a
2019 1014 71.5 14.1 n/a
2020 986 74.8 13.1 n/a
2021 929 75.5 12.3 n/a
2022 923 69.7 13.2 n/a
2023 926 70.8 13.0 n/a
2024 959 78.1 12.2 n/a

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Melrose High

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 1014 n/a n/a n/a
1989 934 n/a n/a n/a
1990 1164 n/a n/a n/a
1991 1114 n/a n/a n/a
1992 1079 n/a n/a n/a
1993 1022 n/a 0.0 n/a
1994 967 n/a n/a n/a
1995 923 n/a 0.0 n/a
1996 923 n/a 0.0 n/a
1997 972 n/a 0.0 n/a
1998 993 n/a 0.0 n/a
1999 966 n/a 0.0 5.4
2000 946 n/a 0.0 5.6
2001 957 n/a 0.0 4.8
2002 987 n/a n/a 6.4
2003 987 n/a n/a 6.4
2004 971 62.0 15.7 3.9
2005 932 69.7 13.4 6.4
2006 906 64.0 14.2 9.3
2007 896 65.0 13.8 12.4
2008 906 65.4 13.9 13.8
2009 927 65.0 14.3 13.8
2010 951 63.0 15.0 12.5
2011 984 65.9 14.9 17.4
2012 1026 68.1 15.0 16.8
2013 942 71.5 13.1 19.5
2014 933 69.6 13.3 17.9
2015 933 66.0 14.1 19.2
2016 948 67.0 14.1 n/a
2017 988 69.8 14.1 n/a
2018 1002 69.9 14.3 n/a
2019 1014 71.5 14.1 n/a
2020 986 74.8 13.1 n/a
2021 929 75.5 12.3 n/a
2022 923 69.7 13.2 n/a
2023 926 70.8 13.0 n/a
2024 959 78.1 12.2 n/a

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Melrose High

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $82 (0.7%) $12,023 (99.3%) $12,105
2020 $279 (2.2%) $12,690 (97.8%) $12,969
2021 $283 (2.0%) $14,150 (98.0%) $14,432

Data source: Massachusetts Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Melrose High

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 79th of 351 High schoolsRanks 65th of 347 High schools
 3.8%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
10th Grade English Language Arts (Melrose High)7780.2
 3.2%
   10th Grade English Language Arts (Melrose)7779.3
 2.3%
   10th Grade English Language Arts (Massachusetts)6158.2
 2.8%
10th Grade Mathematics (Melrose High)6964.6
 4.4%
   10th Grade Mathematics (Melrose)6863.6
 4.4%
   10th Grade Mathematics (Massachusetts)5849.7
 8.3%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students1014926
 8.7%
African American6573
 12.3%
American Indian00
Asian4750
 6.4%
Hispanic4066
 65%
Pacific Islander00
White826692
 16.2%
Two or More Races3641
 13.9%


Schools Near Melrose High









Frequently Asked Questions about Melrose High

Melrose High ranks 67th of 348 Massachusetts high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

In the 2023-24 school year, 959 students attended Melrose High.

Students at Melrose High are 72% White, 9% African American, 7% Hispanic, 6% Asian, 4% Two or more races.

Melrose High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Early Childhood Center
Elementary : Herbert Clark Hoover
Elementary : Horace Mann
Elementary : Lincoln
Elementary : Roosevelt
Elementary : Winthrop
Middle : Melrose Middle


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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.





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