The Swellesley Report

The annual U.S. News & World Report “Best High School” rankings just came out, and Wellesley High School landed at #35 in Massachusetts, down from #28 in 2024, and even as high as #4 in years prior. The digital media company also sorts high schools nationally, in which Wellesley comes in at #647 out of roughly 18,000 public schools.

(We’ve provided a link, above, to the rankings. Be forewarned: Accessing the data on the digital media outlet’s platform requires users to set up a full account. So get ready to hand over your name, why you want to know about the rankings, your email, and date of birth, just to inspect the scores. Lovely.)

Here is a closer look at what the rankings say, how WHS compares to peer schools, why some residents are raising concerns, and how school leadership views the data.

U.S. News generates a scorecard for each school, assigning a separate percentage “grade” based on six weighted performance indicators. Here’s how Wellesley did on its report card:

• Took at least one AP exam—68%
• Passed at least one AP exam with a score of 3 or higher—61%
• Mathematics proficiency—83%
• Reading proficiency—85%
• Science proficiency—84%
• Graduation rate—98%

Wellesley High School received an overall score of 96.39%

The top ten in Massachusetts

Boston Latin School secured the #1 spot in Massachusetts, and was the the only school in the state to crack the nationwide top 100 list, coming in at #44. Admission to Boston Latin requires a competitive application process, including an exam.

#1 Boston Latin

#2 Belmont High School

#3 Pioneer Valley Chinese Immersion Charter School (Hadley)

#4 The Bromfield School (Harvard)

#5 Lexington High School

#6 Mystic Valley Regional Charter School (Malden)

#7 O’Bryant School Of Math & Science (Roxbury)

#8 Hopkinton High School

#9 Sturgis Charter Public School (Hyannis)

#10 Dover-Sherborn Regional High School

When evaluated among surrounding communities and comparable districts, U.S. News places Wellesley midway in the cluster.

Peer schools

#11 Acton Boxborough High School

#13 Weston High School

#14 Wayland High School

#20 Newton South

#22 Needham High School

#23 Medfield High School

#28 Newton North

#29 Winchester High School

#35 Wellesley High School

#53 Lincoln Sudbury High School

#55 Natick High School

Notably, educational demographics in municipalities differ from many neighboring districts. A relatively low 73% of school-aged children in Wellesley attend the public school system. Most of these students attend private or parochial institutions (as opposed to being homeschooled).

The drop in Wellesley’s rankings has become a source of frustration in the community. Several residents reached out to share their perspectives, though all requested anonymity, one citing a “fear of retaliation.”

One resident said in an email that the WPS superintendent and administration “take no accountability and always seem to brush off these rankings, but residents care about it and it should be an important input for them.”

Critics point out that WHS ranked #4 at the start of Lussier’s tenure, compared to #35 today. Some residents also point to underlying state assessment trends, noting that district-wide MCAS scores in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math have seen dips over recent testing cycles.

Another reader said in an email, “The town continues to fall in rankings without any accountability from Lussier.  He has dismissed these rankings in the past due to their scoring methodologies.”

We reached out to Supt. Lussier who said in an email, “Let me start by saying that, naturally, we want our community to feel confident in the quality of their public schools, the experience of our students, and the impact of our collective work in preparing students for a future of opportunities.”

Lussier noted that external rankings rely on lagging data, often from two years prior, and said that even tiny changes in raw scores or tweaks to their methodology can have dramatic results on changes in ratings. He encouraged community members to examine local source data, such as the district’s annual Progress Report and recent WHS Assessment Presentation. Those reports show strong local performance, including high SAT/ACT participation, competitive AP achievement (where 95.5% of test-takers scored a 3 or higher in 2024–25), and performance on par with top peer districts.

In addition to defending Wellesley High School’s academic record, Lussier pointed to core areas of student development that he says external algorithms ignore. “For example, our outstanding performing arts, visual arts, and athletics programs are among the strongest in the state and these programs are not included in the methodology. I’m incredibly proud of the work to support our students’ social/emotional health and well-being through programs like Cornerstones and our Bridge Program at WHS, the latter of which the Governor highlighted in 2024 as a model for the state.  Our Launch program, which serves students aged 18-22, moved to Regis College last year in a unique partnership model, which is the first of its kind in the area and has drawn the attention of many surrounding communities. There is so much that we do that is foundational to our students that is not reflected in these ratings.”

Lussier also pointed to a new program which tracks graduates via a survey designed to find out how well WPS prepared them for the demands of their current path. He says more than 95% of respondents indicated they were either fully prepared and/or ahead of their peers. The full results of this alumni survey will be released this fall.

Still, many parents don’t want to hear it, citing what they say is a widespread discontent with WPS and noting that there was a public push by parents in June for the School Committee not to renew the superintendent’s contract. We reported on that here.

At that June 18 meeting, the School Committee voted 3-2 in favor of entering negotiations to extend the superintendent’s contact, which was last renewed in 2022. The School Committee’s Aug. 25 meeting includes an agenda item to discuss and vote on the superintendent’s contract, which the committee has been hashing out during executive sessions in recent weeks.

Whether community members view rankings as a crucial metric or a flawed formula, the conversation highlights the ongoing interest in how local education quality is measured, delivered, and evaluated.

Data-driven, will travel?

If you’re willing to chase the rankings to wherever they take you, then you could find yourself moving to Murfreesboro, Tenn., home to Central Magnet School, which is ranked #1 in the country. All of its students take at least one AP exam; 100% of its students pass at least one AP exam; they also score 100% in reading and science proficiency, and all of their students graduate. However, unlike traditional public high schools, Central Magnet relies on a competitive, selective academic admissions process.

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