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Reading, Massachusetts - 9 schools
An equity score of 24/100 ranks Reading #302 of 362 districts in Massachusetts (state average 38). Derived live from how evenly resources are distributed across the district's schools.
At $18,744 per pupil, Reading ranks #308 of 396 Massachusetts districts by per-pupil spending (Massachusetts districts). NCES F-33 finance data.
3,899
Total Enrollment
9
Schools
$18,744
Per-Pupil Spending
Elementary, Middle
School Types
District-Level NCES Analysis
Reading operates 9 public schools serving 3,899 students, placing it among the smaller districts in Massachusetts. The school portfolio breaks down into 5 elementary, 2 middle, 1 high, 1 combined schools, a compact enough portfolio that families can compare every campus directly before they move, rent, or enrol. These enrollment and school figures come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 release, and the district is based in Middlesex County.
Per-pupil expenditure runs $18,744 according to the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey, in the lower half of 396 Massachusetts districts by per-pupil spending. See how Massachusetts compares in our national per-pupil spending analysis. The funding mix is 66.5% local, 25.7% state, and 7.9% federal, a local-revenue-heavy mix that leaves the district more exposed to property-tax swings and local ballot measures than state-funded peers. The district's equity score is 24/100, ranked #302 of 362 in Massachusetts against a state average of 38, notably less even than the typical district in the state for how evenly funding reaches its schools.
Academic infrastructure includes 1 of 9 schools offering Advanced Placement (17 AP courses district-wide), a 165.8:1 student-counselor ratio, that meets the ASCA-recommended benchmark, and 11.9% chronic absenteeism from the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection. Demographically, the student body averages 82.5% White, 5.7% Asian, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino across the district's schools. Its most demographically mixed campus is J Warren Killam, with a diversity index of 35.9/100.
Its largest campus is Reading Memorial High, enrolling 1,094 students (29% of the district's total enrollment). Its smallest is Rise Preschool, at 116 students, a 9x enrollment spread across the district's campuses.
Reading Memorial High accounts for 28.1% of all Reading student enrollment
That dominant concentration means Reading-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the dominant entity. Grade band: high. A single dominant campus often anchors a district's program offerings and staffing patterns; the share helps explain why district-wide averages may not reflect the typical neighbourhood-school experience. When one entity dominates a region's footprint, its programmatic and budget decisions effectively set policy for a majority of the affected population.
Reading school enrollment varies 9.4× across entities
Reading school enrollment ranges from 116 students (lowest) to 1,094 students (highest), a spread of 978 students. That spread reflects typical mixed-portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. Per-school staffing ratios, programme availability, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same district based on enrollment shape.
Reading student-counselor ratio is 166:1 — low (typically associated with meeting or exceeding the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommended 250:1 benchmark, which correlates with stronger college and career counseling capacity)
student-counselor ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE counselors against total enrollment, districts that contract intervention or social-emotional staff outside the counselor classification may be under-counted Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.
Reading chronic absenteeism rate is 11.9% — low (typically associated with lower-than-average attendance disruption; districts in this range often have attendance interventions, robust transportation, or smaller catchments that reduce barriers)
chronic absenteeism rate is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: a student is chronically absent if they miss ≥10% of enrolled days for any reason, illness, family obligations, or disengagement Lower values often correlate with smaller scale and population characteristics rather than higher resource budgets per se.