The percentage of students considered proficient on of the state's 10th grade math test, the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS).
Students must pass the 10th grade MCAS math and English tests in order to graduate high school. Math skills are critical to a variety of careers and important for life skills ranging from budgeting and smart shopping to understanding the news.
In 2025, 37% of 10th graders passed the state's math exam, a decrease from 2024 and below the state 2025 passing rate of 45%. Passing rates lagged in Lawrence (11%), Lynn (16%), and Peabody (21%). The highest passing rates were in Manchester Essex Regional (82%), Andover (77%) and Hamilton-Wenham (73%).
Passing rates in 2025 were lower among Hispanic students and low-income students (both at 19%) and African American students (28%).
Essex County's passing rate was below the 57% passing rate of Middlesex, MA.
Studies point to a variety of factors believed to contribute to disparities in test scores and other measures of student achievement. School systems in the United States are highly segregated, and students of color disproportionately attend schools with high proportions of low-income students who may not have benefited from early learning opportunities at the same rate as other students. Schools also have different levels of resources ranging from qualified/experienced teachers to advanced courses to facilities and technology, and schools with large Black and Latino populations often have lower levels. In addition, teachers across all school systems tend to be disproportionately White, and teaching practices and curriculum may not be culturally relevant to students of color.
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education defines "Low Income" students as those that meet any of the following criteria: identified as participating in state-administered programs (SNAP, TAFDC, MassHealth, or Foster Care), reported by a district as homeless, or a family income of up to 185% of the Federal Poverty Level.
As assessments vary among states, it is not possible to include comparable data for the nation or other areas in this indicator.
| All Students | Asian | Black or African American | Hispanic or Latino | Low Income | Non-Low Income | White | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essex County, MA | 37% | 70% | 28% | 19% | 19% | 53% | 50% |
| Middlesex County, MA | 57% | 81% | 29% | 27% | 29% | 69% | 64% |
| Massachusetts | 45% | 78% | 26% | 23% | 24% | 59% | 53% |
| School Districts in Essex | |||||||
| Amesbury | 43% | 11% | 19% | 55% | 52% | ||
| Andover | 77% | 96% | 46% | 48% | 81% | 75% | |
| Beverly | 39% | 30% | 29% | 24% | 46% | 42% | |
| Danvers | 31% | 15% | 14% | 38% | 31% | ||
| Essex Agricultural Technical | 43% | 67% | 57% | 45% | 35% | 46% | 41% |
| Georgetown | 41% | 50% | 28% | 46% | 40% | ||
| Gloucester | 41% | 6% | 21% | 58% | 48% | ||
| Greater Lawrence Regional Vocational Technical | 26% | 25% | 24% | 30% | 30% | ||
| Hamilton-Wenham | 73% | 36% | 76% | 74% | |||
| Haverhill | 25% | 70% | 13% | 10% | 10% | 46% | 38% |
| Ipswich | 69% | 38% | 75% | 73% | |||
| KIPP Academy Lynn Charter | 54% | 61% | 54% | 49% | 63% | ||
| Lawrence | 11% | 0% | 10% | 9% | 24% | 28% | |
| Lynn | 16% | 37% | 16% | 13% | 13% | 27% | 28% |
| Lynnfield | 65% | 91% | 56% | 42% | 68% | 65% | |
| Manchester Essex Regional | 82% | 67% | 84% | 82% | |||
| Marblehead | 56% | 40% | 44% | 43% | 58% | 57% | |
| Masconomet | 66% | 82% | 58% | 66% | 67% | ||
| Methuen | 25% | 53% | 33% | 14% | 17% | 37% | 35% |
| Newburyport | 56% | 30% | 59% | 55% | |||
| North Andover | 53% | 76% | 46% | 33% | 24% | 63% | 57% |
| Peabody | 21% | 12% | 13% | 12% | 31% | 25% | |
| Pentucket | 58% | 20% | 64% | 58% | |||
| Rockport | 59% | 50% | 63% | 57% | |||
| Salem | 41% | 44% | 23% | 23% | 63% | 57% | |
| Salem Academy Charter | 48% | 40% | 34% | 63% | 56% | ||
| Saugus | 31% | 70% | 21% | 25% | 38% | 32% | |
| Swampscott | 48% | 40% | 31% | 39% | 52% | 55% | |
| Triton | 46% | 29% | 53% | 44% | |||
| Whittier Regional Vocational Technical | 49% | 36% | 44% | 40% | 55% | 51% |
| All Students | Asian | Black or African American | Hispanic or Latino | Low Income | Non-Low Income | White | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essex County, MA | 3,077 | 179 | 90 | 625 | 743 | 2,334 | 1,972 |
| Middlesex County, MA | 9,247 | 1,851 | 310 | 845 | 1,454 | 7,788 | 5,566 |
| Massachusetts | 29,927 | 4,021 | 1,765 | 3,704 | 6,639 | 23,288 | 18,980 |
| School Districts in Essex | |||||||
| Amesbury | 59 | 2 | 8 | 51 | 54 | ||
| Andover | 295 | 85 | 19 | 24 | 271 | 177 | |
| Beverly | 116 | 3 | 15 | 23 | 93 | 91 | |
| Danvers | 62 | 4 | 8 | 54 | 49 | ||
| Essex Agricultural Technical | 196 | 8 | 8 | 42 | 46 | 150 | 133 |
| Georgetown | 26 | 5 | 5 | 21 | 21 | ||
| Gloucester | 73 | 2 | 17 | 56 | 65 | ||
| Greater Lawrence Regional Vocational Technical | 124 | 97 | 79 | 45 | 20 | ||
| Hamilton-Wenham | 85 | 4 | 81 | 72 | |||
| Haverhill | 113 | 7 | 3 | 21 | 26 | 87 | 77 |
| Ipswich | 75 | 6 | 69 | 66 | |||
| KIPP Academy Lynn Charter | 66 | 20 | 44 | 39 | 27 | ||
| Lawrence | 85 | 0 | 72 | 60 | 25 | 5 | |
| Lynn | 199 | 26 | 16 | 117 | 119 | 80 | 35 |
| Lynnfield | 99 | 10 | 10 | 8 | 91 | 74 | |
| Manchester Essex Regional | 85 | 8 | 77 | 80 | |||
| Marblehead | 112 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 100 | 94 | |
| Masconomet | 156 | 9 | 11 | 145 | 141 | ||
| Methuen | 104 | 8 | 11 | 28 | 38 | 66 | 54 |
| Newburyport | 101 | 6 | 95 | 90 | |||
| North Andover | 187 | 19 | 6 | 21 | 21 | 166 | 133 |
| Peabody | 72 | 4 | 12 | 21 | 51 | 51 | |
| Pentucket | 80 | 4 | 76 | 73 | |||
| Rockport | 40 | 10 | 30 | 36 | |||
| Salem | 90 | 7 | 23 | 27 | 63 | 47 | |
| Salem Academy Charter | 31 | 16 | 12 | 19 | 9 | ||
| Saugus | 52 | 7 | 15 | 25 | 27 | 23 | |
| Swampscott | 82 | 4 | 9 | 20 | 62 | 63 | |
| Triton | 51 | 10 | 41 | 44 | |||
| Whittier Regional Vocational Technical | 161 | 4 | 44 | 46 | 115 | 95 |
| All Students | Asian | Black or African American | Hispanic or Latino | Low Income | Non-Low Income | White | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essex County, MA | 43% | 68% | 25% | 22% | 25% | 60% | 57% |
| Middlesex County, MA | 60% | 80% | 30% | 28% | 32% | 72% | 66% |
| Massachusetts | 50% | 78% | 26% | 26% | 29% | 65% | 59% |
| School Districts in Essex | |||||||
| Amesbury | 58% | 36% | 43% | 65% | 63% | ||
| Andover | 70% | 89% | 61% | 48% | 47% | 75% | 70% |
| Beverly | 46% | 33% | 22% | 33% | 54% | 55% | |
| Danvers | 47% | 38% | 40% | 50% | 49% | ||
| Essex Agricultural Technical | 60% | 58% | 52% | 64% | 60% | ||
| Georgetown | 57% | 61% | 58% | ||||
| Gloucester | 40% | 20% | 27% | 52% | 42% | ||
| Greater Lawrence Regional Vocational Technical | 29% | 26% | 27% | 35% | 36% | ||
| Hamilton-Wenham | 74% | 90% | 47% | 79% | 77% | ||
| Haverhill | 32% | 23% | 15% | 19% | 51% | 46% | |
| Ipswich | 70% | 60% | 41% | 78% | 73% | ||
| KIPP Academy Lynn Charter | 52% | 52% | 48% | 49% | 59% | ||
| Lawrence | 19% | 54% | 25% | 17% | 17% | 34% | 38% |
| Lynn | 18% | 44% | 12% | 14% | 15% | 27% | 30% |
| Lynnfield | 69% | 50% | 43% | 73% | 70% | ||
| Manchester Essex Regional | 76% | 63% | 78% | 75% | |||
| Marblehead | 59% | 10% | 24% | 37% | 64% | 66% | |
| Masconomet | 73% | 82% | 52% | 75% | 74% | ||
| Methuen | 35% | 56% | 0% | 20% | 20% | 52% | 50% |
| Newburyport | 65% | 34% | 70% | 67% | |||
| North Andover | 58% | 80% | 27% | 38% | 31% | 67% | 61% |
| Peabody | 35% | 80% | 15% | 11% | 19% | 52% | 43% |
| Pentucket | 56% | 33% | 64% | 57% | |||
| Rockport | 60% | 37% | 69% | 60% | |||
| Salem | 26% | 16% | 16% | 20% | 42% | 36% | |
| Salem Academy Charter | 54% | 41% | 53% | 57% | 70% | ||
| Saugus | 34% | 20% | 27% | 20% | 43% | 37% | |
| Swampscott | 62% | 43% | 28% | 72% | 67% | ||
| Triton | 47% | 11% | 61% | 46% | |||
| Whittier Regional Vocational Technical | 55% | 91% | 40% | 50% | 58% | 57% |
| All Students | Asian | Black or African American | Hispanic or Latino | Low Income | Non-Low Income | White | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essex County, MA | 3,479 | 162 | 64 | 615 | 948 | 2,529 | 2,439 |
| Middlesex County, MA | 9,389 | 1,567 | 286 | 696 | 1,574 | 7,804 | 6,185 |
| Massachusetts | 33,384 | 3,664 | 1,622 | 3,647 | 8,018 | 25,366 | 23,067 |
| School Districts in Essex | |||||||
| Amesbury | 72 | 4 | 17 | 55 | 66 | ||
| Andover | 290 | 66 | 11 | 20 | 29 | 261 | 185 |
| Beverly | 132 | 4 | 12 | 38 | 94 | 114 | |
| Danvers | 101 | 8 | 22 | 79 | 83 | ||
| Essex Agricultural Technical | 244 | 28 | 59 | 185 | 196 | ||
| Georgetown | 45 | 43 | 44 | ||||
| Gloucester | 89 | 3 | 28 | 61 | 79 | ||
| Greater Lawrence Regional Vocational Technical | 120 | 88 | 83 | 37 | 27 | ||
| Hamilton-Wenham | 91 | 9 | 9 | 82 | 76 | ||
| Haverhill | 141 | 6 | 24 | 48 | 93 | 107 | |
| Ipswich | 91 | 6 | 11 | 80 | 81 | ||
| KIPP Academy Lynn Charter | 62 | 11 | 45 | 45 | 17 | ||
| Lawrence | 128 | 7 | 4 | 110 | 103 | 25 | 6 |
| Lynn | 194 | 30 | 11 | 104 | 126 | 68 | 40 |
| Lynnfield | 102 | 5 | 9 | 93 | 86 | ||
| Manchester Essex Regional | 68 | 10 | 58 | 65 | |||
| Marblehead | 122 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 108 | 110 | |
| Masconomet | 183 | 9 | 14 | 169 | 167 | ||
| Methuen | 152 | 9 | 0 | 41 | 48 | 104 | 93 |
| Newburyport | 134 | 11 | 123 | 126 | |||
| North Andover | 192 | 20 | 3 | 18 | 27 | 165 | 148 |
| Peabody | 128 | 8 | 2 | 9 | 33 | 95 | 107 |
| Pentucket | 79 | 12 | 67 | 73 | |||
| Rockport | 40 | 7 | 33 | 35 | |||
| Salem | 50 | 3 | 15 | 27 | 23 | 25 | |
| Salem Academy Charter | 37 | 13 | 21 | 16 | 16 | ||
| Saugus | 57 | 2 | 15 | 14 | 43 | 34 | |
| Swampscott | 93 | 9 | 9 | 84 | 76 | ||
| Triton | 64 | 4 | 60 | 55 | |||
| Whittier Regional Vocational Technical | 178 | 10 | 34 | 70 | 108 | 119 |
