29 public K-12 schools in Lowell from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.
29 public schools ranked by quality score. NCES CCD 2024-25 data.
The highest-ranked of Lowell's 29 public schools is Lowell High, scoring 41/100, against a city average of 33.7/100. Computed live across every Lowell campus reporting to NCES.
How the Lowell Public-School Landscape Breaks Down
Lowell, MA enrolls 16,541 students across 29 public schools reporting to the National Center for Education Statistics. Of those, 3 are charter schools, giving families genuine alternatives to the traditional neighbourhood assignment model. The average student-teacher ratio across the city is 12.3:1, and the composite quality score, derived from student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted-program availability, and CRDC attendance data, averages 33.7/100. Schools must report at least five campuses in a city to appear in this listing, which is why very small towns may redirect to the broader county or state view.
The most-resourced campus in Lowell on this index is Lowell High, at 41/100 on the Resource Investment Index with 3,446 enrolled students. What the index does and doesn't measure; click any school below for its full component breakdown.
Lowell spans 4 districts, each filing its own NCES F-33 return, per-pupil spending can vary between neighbouring campuses. Sort the table below by enrollment, level, or district; click any school for its full profile.
Lowell High accounts for 20.8% of all Lowell public-school enrollment
That concentration means Lowell-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade level: High. A dominant campus often anchors a city's program landscape and absorbs a disproportionate share of district capital and staffing decisions. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Lowell school enrollment varies 230× across entities
Lowell school enrollment ranges from 15 students (lowest) to 3,446 students (highest), a spread of 3,431 students. That ratio is an extreme outlier spread — among the widest gaps observed anywhere in this dataset. Per-school staffing, programme depth, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same city based on enrollment shape, a 200-student magnet runs a different operational model than a 2,000-student comprehensive high school.
Lowell student-teacher ratio is 12.3:1 — 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.
Lowell has higher-than-average charter school authorisation eligibility — 10.3% of the population qualifies for charter-school enrollment options
charter-school enrollment options eligibility is the federal threshold for charter school authorisation funding allocations, established under the state-specific charter law. Areas above 30% eligibility receive concentration grants on top of the basic charter school authorisation formula. Regions with eligibility this high typically draw a substantially larger federal funding share relative to their local tax base, which can either offset or reinforce existing gaps depending on allocation policy.
Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Lowell
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.
Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. Quality scores based on student-teacher ratio,
counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance. Schools must have 5+ in the city to be listed.
Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD). Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Read our methodology, which explains how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
