Marblehead High School is ranked no. 61 among Massachusetts public high schools in the 2025 U.S. News & World Report rankings, released last month. The school also placed no. 50 in the Boston metro area and no. 1,526 nationally.
The annual survey evaluates nearly 400 public high schools across the state using factors that include college readiness, state assessment scores, graduation rates and performance among underserved students, according to the report.
The methodology has remained largely unchanged over the past five years, though the publication made temporary adjustments in 2023 to account for gaps in state assessment data during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marblehead’s standing has shifted over the past five years. According to data compiled from U.S. News and archived sources, the school ranked No. 57 in 2021, No. 56 in 2022 and No. 53 in 2023, before slipping to No. 86 in 2024. This year’s ranking reflects a rebound, bringing the school back into the low 60s.
“We are very happy to see that we have improved from last year’s ranking,” said Julia Ferreira, assistant superintendent of teaching and learning. “We’re very proud of our students and our educators that worked hard to achieve this improvement.”
In the latest report, Marblehead posted a graduation rate of 99%, well above the state median, and proficiency rates above 75% in math, reading and science. The school also had a 67% Advanced Placement participation rate, with nearly half of those students passing at least one AP exam.
Ferreira noted that Marblehead has expanded its course offerings in recent years, including more AP classes, which may be contributing to stronger results. She added that with MCAS no longer required for graduation, it remains to be seen how that shift will influence future statewide rankings.
While neighboring districts such as Lynnfield and Hamilton-Wenham landed in the top 40 this year, Ferreira said Marblehead relies more heavily on state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education benchmarks than on third-party rankings to measure performance.
“We will more closely look at how we’re doing compared to our districts based on the DESE data, so we’ll look at that and we’ll explore,” she said.
Beyond academic metrics, Ferreira emphasized the district’s holistic approach, recalling a recent conversation with a parent whose child is now a junior but still credits their kindergarten teacher for making a lasting impact.
“We really try to look at the whole child and the whole story of the students,” she said.
She also pointed to areas that the rankings may not fully capture. “We have a lot of supports in place when students need that extra support so I think it just shows that the work we’re doing in terms of a structure and a school system, it’s working to support our learners,” Ferreira said. “We also do look at how much growth our students are making and so when we look at that, we’re very proud that our students are year after year making growth in Marblehead Public Schools.”
She highlighted other measures that aren’t reflected in the U.S. News data, including the use of diagnostic assessments like iReady and IXL, which help the district track progress from kindergarten through high school.
“We look at our data, we look at how we’re doing, and celebrate and then look for areas of growth. We always are. It’s an ongoing cycle,” Ferreira said.
