Lexington’s Jonas Clarke Middle School has been ranked the No. 1 middle school in Massachusetts by U.S. News & World Report. This recognition places Clarke at the top of the publication’s statewide list of middle schools for the second year in a row. Lexington’s other middle school, William Diamond Middle, ranked sixth. Three of Lexington’s elementary schools were also ranked among the top 25 in the state.
Clarke Principal Dane Despres acknowledged the honor in a message to the school community, writing that while the ranking represents “something” to be proud of, it does not represent “everything.”
“One of the first things I learned when I started teaching was that whoever is receiving your praise should know what they’re being praised for,” Despres said. “I wanted everyone to know this was based on MCAS scores. A school is so much more than that.”
“We’re proud to be part of this statewide tradition of strong public education,” Superintendent Julie Hackett said. “But so much of school performance goes beyond just the test scores.”
U.S. News & World Report’s heavy reliance on standardized test scores to evaluate schools is a common criticism of the ranking’s methodology.
According to U.S. News & World Report, 50% of its ranking formula is based on students’ raw MCAS scores. The other 50% evaluates those scores in the context of socioeconomic factors, including how students perform relative to expectations based on their demographics.
The scores behind the ranking aren’t close to the state average. On this spring’s MCAS, 78% of Clarke sixth graders, 81% of seventh graders and 79% of eighth graders met or exceeded expectations in English language arts, roughly double the statewide rate. In math, the figures were 84%, 87% and 81%, again about twice the state’s. In every grade, Clarke’s average ELA and math scores placed it in the 97th to 99th percentile of Massachusetts schools.
Standardized test scores can offer some insight into students’ academic skill, but they cannot measure the strength of relationships between students, teachers and staff, or the extracurricular opportunities available at a particular institution.
“We think about our schools in terms of social and emotional learning outcomes. Things like that matter just as much as academics,” Hackett said. “We think about all these intangibles and interpersonal aspects of student growth and development.”
She explained that while these aspects are difficult to quantify, school administrators use tools such as routine climate surveys to gain a more holistic understanding of student and staff performance beyond academics.
“That is what makes Lexington special. We don’t lose sight of that focus, need and drive to be better every day,” Hackett said. “A high ranking doesn’t mean our work is done.”
Lexington Public Schools uses strategic plans to set goals that will guide the district’s work over multiple years. As part of that process, administrators meet frequently to assess the district’s progress and identify areas for improvement. One such priority outlined in the district’s 2025–2027 strategic plan is addressing and narrowing equity gaps among students to ensure “the meaningful inclusion and integration” of every member of the school community.
This goal, among others, was discussed at a committee meeting late last month. The district’s ongoing efforts to achieve it include strengthening core instruction, expanding student mentoring opportunities and developing a more diverse pipeline of educators.
“We may be number one in the ranking system, and I am proud of what that represents as far as our MCAS scores and our community’s commitment to educational excellence, but we shouldn’t rest on our laurels,” Despres said. “We should let that pride give us a bit more fuel to chase down the goals we have left to accomplish.”