Children’s development and educational success hinges upon a myriad of factors, including prekindergarten participation, school attendance, the adequacy of school funding, and student performance. Additionally, educational attainment levels are associated with greater earnings and standard of living. In Essex County, pre-kindergarten participation and school spending is increasing, as is chronic absenteeism. Disparities in academic achievement remain significant, while the percent of adults with a bachelor’s degree is increasing.
Prekindergarten helps prepare children both socially and academically for school, and can fill in gaps for children exposed to a less rich vocabulary or lacking in other resources. In Essex County, 46% of 4-year-olds were enrolled in public or private prekindergarten programs in 2024, up from 43% in 2007.
School attendance is increasingly measured by the share of students who miss 10% or more of the school year and are deemed "chronically absent." In 2023, 23% of students were chronically absent in Essex County, an increase of 9 points from 2020 and reflective of a general increase in chronic absenteeism statewide since the COVID-19 pandemic. Some local districts had rates near or above 30%, including Lynn, Haverhill, Lawrence and Saugus.
School spending in Essex County across public school districts was $22,400 per student in 2024, close to the statewide level of $23,100 and below the level in Middlesex, MA of $23,400. Spending in Essex County has increased 22% since 2010, after adjusting for inflation. The highest spending districts in Essex County were some of the vocational schools, with per-student spending levels at or above $25,000.
Measures of academic achievement can elevate student learning and identify achievement gaps. Disparities in academic achievement in Essex County remain significant, though some groups have made considerable progress over the last decade.
Third grade is an important milestone, particularly in the development of students’ literacy skills. Through third grade, many students are learning to read; from third grade on, they need to be able to read to learn. In Essex County in 2025, 37% of 3rd graders were considered proficient on the state’s English Language Arts exams, up nearly 3 points from the previous year.
Proficiency was lower among low-income and Hispanic students (both 20%) and African American students (23%) compared with those who were not low income (54%), White (52%) or Asian students (51%). The passing rates in 2025 show slight declines for some groups, including Asian and African American students (both down 1 point from 2024) while all other groups saw increases in proficiency.
Similarly, 8th grade is an important benchmark for the development of math skills, as students are studying or will soon move into study of algebra and other high school-level math courses. In 2025, 35% of Essex County 8th graders were considered proficient on the state’s math exam. But on this exam as well, rates were lower among some groups: 18% among low-income students, 19% among Hispanic students, and 23% among African American students. Here too, 2025 passing rates declined from the previous year for some groups, including Asian and low-income students (both down 1 point) and White students (down 2 points).
Massachusetts requires students to pass 10th grade level state tests in math and English in order to graduate. In 2025, 45% of 10th graders passed the state’s language arts exam and 37% passed the math exam. Disparities were less pronounced on the English exam, with 28% of both low-income students and Hispanic students, and 35% of African American students passing in 2025.
High school graduation rates in Essex County have been rising, with 89% of the 2021 cohort graduating in 2025, up 9 percentage points from 2010 and on par with the state graduation rate. Fifteen districts in the county had graduation rates of 95% or higher. The lowest graduation rates were in Lynn (76%) and Lawrence (82%). Lawrence, however, had the largest gain since 2010, with a 36-point increase.
Students from low-income and Hispanic backgrounds graduated at somewhat lower rates, 83% and 82% respectively in 2025, compared to 95% of Asian students, 94% of White students, and 92% of African American students. These disparities were comparable to rates at the state level, although Essex County’s rate among African American students was 5 points higher than the state. The rate among African American students in Essex increased the most since 2014, by 13 points, followed by Hispanic students with an increase of 8 points.
Essex County is a highly educated county in terms of the adult population, with 44% of adults in 2020-24 having at least a bachelor’s degree, up from 37% in 2010-14. That is above the national rate (36%) but below Massachusetts’ rate of 47% and below the rates in comparison counties: 60% in Middlesex, MA, 53% in Westchester, NY, and 48% in Lake, IL.
Some parts of Essex County and some groups within Essex County had much lower levels of education. In the cities of Lawrence and Lynn, just 17% and 24%, respectively, of adults had at least a bachelor’s.