NCES CCD 2024-25 5 schools MA

Best-Resourced Schools in Amherst, MA

Compiled from official source data by .

5 public K-12 schools in Amherst from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.

PlainSchools home → About this data
5
Schools
2,220
Students
52.2/100
Avg Resource Index
9.5:1
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio

National city placement

One campus shapes the city average

According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Amherst has more public-school enrollment than 16% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Amherst Regional High enrolls 36.8% of Amherst's public-school students. That is enough concentration for one institution to pull the citywide enrollment, staffing, and Resource Index averages toward its own profile. The smaller campuses below should therefore be compared directly rather than inferred from the headline mean; their grade configurations and program footprints can be materially different even inside the same district.

A full K–12 ladder sits inside the city boundary

Amherst's list includes 2 elementary, 1 middle, and 1 high-school campus, plus 1 combined-grade record. The city average spans every major grade stage, so the ranked table is more informative when read within level than as one interchangeable queue.

Campus spread matters more than the city mean

The 7-point gap between Crocker Farm Elementary and Amherst Regional Middle School shows the range hidden by Amherst's average Resource Investment Index. The city figure is useful for national placement, but families ultimately choose among campuses with different grade spans, enrollment, district affiliations, and reported support fields. Start with schools serving the relevant grade level, then compare the index components rather than assuming the city average describes any one classroom.

City enrollment
Top 84%
School count
Top 99%
Resource Index average
92nd percentile
Teacher staffing
99th percentile

Amherst Regional High accounts for 36.8% of all Amherst public-school enrollment

That dominant concentration means Amherst-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the largest entity. Grade level: High. The share measures enrollment concentration only; it does not establish how districts allocate programs, capital, or staff. Enrollment-weighted aggregates give this entity more weight than any smaller peer, while an unweighted entity average treats every record equally.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Amherst school enrollment varies 2.6× across entities

Amherst school enrollment ranges from 314 students (lowest) to 816 students (highest), a spread of 502 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous school portfolio for a city this size. Per-school staffing and program breadth can differ sharply at opposite ends of that enrollment range, so the city average should not be treated as a typical campus.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Amherst student-teacher ratio is 9.5:1 — low (typically associated with smaller schools or per-school staffing investment that often correlates with stronger per-student supports)

student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, Public School Universe

# School Score
1. Crocker Farm Elementary 56
2. Fort River Elementary 53
3. Wildwood Elementary 52
4. Amherst Regional High 51
5. Amherst Regional Middle School 49

Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Amherst

Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.

  1. 1 Wildwood Elementary 72.5/100
  2. 2 Crocker Farm Elementary 70.1/100
  3. 3 Fort River Elementary 68.2/100
  4. 4 Amherst Regional Middle School 66.2/100
  5. 5 Amherst Regional High 63.5/100

What do families ask about schools in Amherst?

Which Amherst school has the highest Resource Investment Index? ▼

Crocker Farm Elementary has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Amherst schools in this federal-data comparison at 56/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.

How many schools are in Amherst, MA? ▼

Amherst has 5 public schools with a total enrollment of 2,220 students. Average student-teacher ratio: 9.5:1.

Other Cities in Massachusetts

Springfield
71 schools
Worcester
49 schools
Dorchester
29 schools
Lawrence
29 schools
Lowell
29 schools
Lynn
28 schools

Side-by-side: Compare any two schools or districts in Massachusetts →

Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. The Resource Investment Index uses reported student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance; it is not an academic rating. Cities must include at least five schools to be listed. This public-data comparison is for informational purposes: verify current enrollment, attendance boundaries, and programs with the school district before acting. See the guide to understanding NCES data.