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Niche has released its 2025 school district rankings. According to the announcement:
“Niche’s rankings combine user input — ratings from current students, alumni and parents — with quantitative data from sources like the U.S. Department of Education to evaluate teachers, resources, facilities, extracurricular activities and more. This comprehensive approach assesses a wide array of factors, providing a well-rounded perspective on educational institutions across the country.”
The Sudbury Public Schools district (SPS) received a B+ grade and was not ranked as it is only a K-8 district and cannot be compared to the more common K-12 districts in Niche’s rankings. SPS received an ‘A’ for academics, but all other categories were ranked in Niche’s ‘B’ and ‘C’ ranges. SPS received a C+ for diversity, a C- for food, and C for clubs and activities. Teachers received a B, and the administration received a B- for the second year in a row. Resources and facilities received a B.
Lincoln-Sudbury High School (L-S) was ranked #12 for high schools in Massachusetts and received an A+ grade from Niche. L-S ranked #4 for best high school teachers in the state, and #10 on best high schools in the state for athletes.
To put the SPS grade in context, we’ve compiled the grades and rankings for all school districts that were selected by the SPS school committee as comparable districts that are frequently referenced in the annual budget books:
| District | Niche Grade | Niche Ranking in MA |
|---|---|---|
| Sudbury Public Schools (K-8) | B+ | N/A |
| Weston | A+ | #1 |
| Wellesley | A+ | #2 |
| Concord Public Schools (K-8) | B+ | N/A |
| Needham | A+ | #15 |
| Lexington | A+ | #4 |
| Wayland | A+ | #6 |
| Acton-Boxborough | A+ | #18 |
| Winchester | A+ | #7 |
| Belmont | A+ | #3 |
| Lincoln Public Schools (K-8) | B+ | N/A |
The highest ranked district receiving a B+ from Niche was Ipswich, at #75 in the ranking of Massachusetts school districts.
Ranking services use a variety of different methodologies, often resulting in significant variations in results. Notably, even within the Niche rankings of SPS there’s room for interpretation of the data. While the SPS district netted a B+, three of the district’s five schools received an ‘A’ grade, while Israel Loring Elementary School and Ephraim Curtis Middle School received an A-.
The Niche rankings were published soon after the underwhelming results of the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) tests came in for Sudbury Public Schools. Full story here.
