Impact Essex County

How is our county doing?

In 2025, 45% of 10th graders passed the state's language arts exam, down 5 points from 2024 and lower than the state 2025 passing rate of 51%. Passing rates were highest in Manchester Essex Regional (82%) and Hamilton-Wenham (80%), and lowest in Lawrence (17%) and Peabody (24%).

In Essex County in 2025, proficiency was lower among Hispanic and low-income students (both 28%), and African American (35%) students compared to those who are Asian (76%), not low-income (61%), or White (58%). Proficiency decreased among all student groups from 2024 to 2025.

Why do these disparities exist?

Studies point to a variety of factors believed to contribute to disparities in test scores and other measures of student achievement. School systems in the United States are highly segregated, and students of color disproportionately attend schools with high proportions of low-income students who may not have benefited from early learning opportunities at the same rate as other students. Schools also have different levels of resources ranging from qualified/experienced teachers to advanced courses to facilities and technology, and schools with large Black and Latino populations often have lower levels. In addition, teachers across all school systems tend to be disproportionately White, and teaching practices and curriculum may not be culturally relevant to students of color.

Notes about the data

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education defines "Low Income" students as those that meet any of the following criteria: identified as participating in state-administered programs (SNAP, TAFDC, MassHealth, or Foster Care), reported by a district as homeless, or a family income of up to 185% of the Federal Poverty Level.

As assessments vary among states, it is not possible to include comparable data for the nation or other areas in this indicator.

Percent of Students Passing Grade 10 Reading, 2025

	All Students	Asian	Black or African American	Hispanic or Latino	Low Income	Non-Low Income	White
Essex County, MA	45%	76%	35%	28%	28%	61%	58%
Middlesex County, MA	61%	79%	38%	34%	35%	72%	68%
Massachusetts	51%	76%	35%	31%	31%	64%	59%
School Districts in Essex
Amesbury	51%			17%	27%	61%	59%
Andover	74%	92%		52%	44%	79%	72%
Beverly	45%		30%	21%	24%	55%	51%
Danvers	45%			28%	23%	56%	47%
Essex Agricultural Technical	64%	83%	71%	59%	55%	68%	65%
Georgetown	50%			55%	32%	58%	51%
Gloucester	37%			18%	18%	55%	41%
Greater Lawrence Regional Vocational Technical	43%			42%	42%	45%	49%
Hamilton-Wenham	80%				27%	86%	82%
Haverhill	28%	50%	8%	15%	16%	46%	43%
Ipswich	72%				47%	77%	71%
KIPP Academy Lynn Charter	68%		73%	65%	63%	77%
Lawrence	17%		15%	16%	14%	33%	21%
Lynn	28%	49%	28%	25%	24%	40%	37%
Lynnfield	77%	91%		78%	70%	78%	77%
Manchester Essex Regional	82%				75%	83%	84%
Marblehead	54%			50%	42%	55%	54%
Masconomet	74%	91%			63%	75%	73%
Methuen	33%	87%	35%	20%	22%	47%	44%
Newburyport	70%				53%	72%	71%
North Andover	60%	84%	46%	44%	40%	66%	63%
Peabody	24%		27%	16%	15%	33%	26%
Pentucket	72%				65%	74%	71%
Rockport	67%				57%	71%	66%
Salem	43%		33%	21%	24%	65%	66%
Salem Academy Charter	60%			48%	51%	70%	75%
Saugus	36%	70%		23%	27%	47%	45%
Swampscott	54%		40%	40%	47%	56%	60%
Triton	50%				33%	58%	50%
Whittier Regional Vocational Technical	62%		45%	58%	54%	66%	65%

Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education

Number of Students Passing Grade 10 Reading, 2025

	All Students	Asian	Black or African American	Hispanic or Latino	Low Income	Non-Low Income	White
Essex County, MA	3,787	194	111	941	1,102	2,685	2,304
Middlesex County, MA	9,922	1,807	414	1,068	1,789	8,127	5,932
Massachusetts	34,361	3,955	2,402	5,141	8,917	25,444	21,129
School Districts in Essex
Amesbury	68			3	11	57	61
Andover	290	82		22	24	266	174
Beverly	136		3	11	23	113	114
Danvers	93			9	15	78	75
Essex Agricultural Technical	291	10	10	55	71	220	208
Georgetown	32			6	6	26	26
Gloucester	68			6	15	53	56
Greater Lawrence Regional Vocational Technical	206			166	137	69	33
Hamilton-Wenham	93				3	90	79
Haverhill	136	5	2	33	46	90	90
Ipswich	79				8	71	65
KIPP Academy Lynn Charter	84		24	54	51	33
Lawrence	131		2	118	97	34	4
Lynn	346	36	28	225	225	121	47
Lynnfield	118	10		14	14	104	88
Manchester Essex Regional	85				9	76	81
Marblehead	106			8	11	95	88
Masconomet	176	10			12	164	155
Methuen	137	13	12	40	52	85	69
Newburyport	127				10	117	117
North Andover	212	21	6	28	36	176	150
Peabody	83		9	15	28	55	53
Pentucket	99				13	86	89
Rockport	46				12	34	42
Salem	94		6	21	29	65	55
Salem Academy Charter	39			19	18	21	12
Saugus	63	7		18	28	35	33
Swampscott	91		4	12	24	67	68
Triton	58				12	46	52
Whittier Regional Vocational Technical	200		5	58	62	138	120

Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education

Percent of Students Passing Grade 10 Reading, 2022

	All Students	Asian	Black or African American	Hispanic or Latino	Low Income	Non-Low Income	White
Essex County, MA	54%	74%	41%	35%	37%	69%	65%
Middlesex County, MA	67%	81%	47%	42%	45%	78%	73%
Massachusetts	58%	79%	41%	38%	40%	71%	65%
School Districts in Essex
Amesbury	64%			45%	47%	71%	67%
Andover	75%	96%	72%	52%	50%	79%	72%
Beverly	55%	58%		32%	43%	63%	62%
Danvers	61%			67%	46%	66%	60%
Essex Agricultural Technical	81%			88%	79%	81%	80%
Georgetown	63%					66%	63%
Gloucester	44%			27%	34%	53%	45%
Greater Lawrence Regional Vocational Technical	53%			53%	50%	60%	54%
Hamilton-Wenham	74%	70%			50%	79%	79%
Haverhill	37%		23%	21%	22%	59%	50%
Ipswich	75%				46%	83%	77%
KIPP Academy Lynn Charter	67%		59%	67%	63%	79%
Lawrence	23%	64%	38%	22%	22%	33%	35%
Lynn	33%	54%	34%	29%	29%	47%	45%
Lynnfield	79%			70%	76%	80%	78%
Manchester Essex Regional	86%				76%	88%	85%
Marblehead	67%		36%	44%	50%	71%	71%
Masconomet	81%	91%			56%	84%	82%
Methuen	48%	63%	20%	34%	31%	66%	62%
Newburyport	70%				45%	75%	72%
North Andover	63%	88%	45%	44%	44%	70%	65%
Peabody	43%	60%	31%	24%	29%	56%	49%
Pentucket	71%				55%	77%	72%
Rockport	67%				53%	73%	69%
Salem	37%		33%	21%	32%	50%	51%
Salem Academy Charter	66%			56%	63%	71%	78%
Saugus	46%		40%	34%	32%	56%	51%
Swampscott	66%			62%	42%	73%	66%
Triton	60%				28%	72%	60%
Whittier Regional Vocational Technical	70%		100%	67%	66%	73%	70%

Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education

Number of Students Passing Grade 10 Reading, 2022

	All Students	Asian	Black or African American	Hispanic or Latino	Low Income	Non-Low Income	White
Essex County, MA	4,347	179	104	992	1,410	2,933	2,820
Middlesex County, MA	10,622	1,578	448	1,064	2,235	8,369	6,797
Massachusetts	39,160	3,717	2,569	5,425	11,244	27,916	25,826
School Districts in Essex
Amesbury	80			5	18	62	71
Andover	311	71	13	23	33	278	195
Beverly	162	7		18	51	111	130
Danvers	129			14	24	105	101
Essex Agricultural Technical	327			42	90	237	259
Georgetown	50					46	48
Gloucester	99			4	37	62	86
Greater Lawrence Regional Vocational Technical	222			176	158	64	40
Hamilton-Wenham	93	7			10	83	80
Haverhill	163		6	35	57	106	118
Ipswich	97				12	85	86
KIPP Academy Lynn Charter	80		13	61	57	23
Lawrence	164	9	6	142	138	26	6
Lynn	361	37	30	223	243	118	59
Lynnfield	118			7	16	102	96
Manchester Essex Regional	77				13	64	75
Marblehead	140		4	8	19	121	119
Masconomet	203	10			15	188	185
Methuen	205	10	2	67	73	132	116
Newburyport	147				15	132	136
North Andover	212	22	5	21	38	174	161
Peabody	157	6	4	21	54	103	124
Pentucket	102				21	81	93
Rockport	45				10	35	40
Salem	70		6	19	44	26	35
Salem Academy Charter	45			18	25	20	18
Saugus	77		4	19	23	54	47
Swampscott	100			13	13	87	76
Triton	84				11	73	73
Whittier Regional Vocational Technical	227		11	56	92	135	147

Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education

INDICATORS	TREND \| ESSEX COUNTY
People 65 or Older Living Alone	Decreasing
Early Prenatal Care by Mother's Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Prevalence of Overweight Adults	Not Applicable
Preterm Births	Increasing
Infant Mortality Rate	Maintaining
Children with Elevated Blood Lead Levels	Decreasing
Children Living in Poverty	Increasing
Children Living in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Disengaged Youth	Maintaining
Live Births to Teen Mothers	Decreasing
Youth Arrests	Decreasing
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Establishments	Maintaining
Arts, Entertainment and Recreation Employment	Maintaining
Tourism Spending	Increasing
Voter Participation Rate	Increasing
Charitable Contributions	Maintaining
Protected Land	Not Applicable
Days with Good Air Quality	Increasing
Beach Contamination	Increasing
Daily Water Use per Resident	Decreasing
Crimes Against People	Maintaining
Crimes Against Property	Decreasing
Drug-Related Arrests	Maintaining
Reports of Domestic Violence	Increasing
Incarceration Rates	Decreasing
Recidivism	Decreasing
Households Without Vehicles	Decreasing
Means of Transportation to Work	Not Applicable
Traffic Injuries and Fatalities	Maintaining
Households With Internet Access	Not Applicable
Change in Total Population	Increasing
Change in Population by Age/Sex	Not Applicable
People with Disabilities	Maintaining
Households by Type	Not Applicable
Single-Parent Families by Sex	Not Applicable
Single-Parent Families by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Foreign-Born Population	Increasing
Language Diversity	Increasing
Change in Total Jobs	Increasing
Change in Jobs by Sector	Not Applicable
Change in Average Salary	Increasing
Change in Average Salary by Sector	Not Applicable
Average Salary by Sector	Not Applicable
Median Earnings by Occupation by Gender	Not Applicable
People Entering/Leaving County for Work	Not Applicable
Employer Size	Not Applicable
Self-Employment Revenue	Increasing
Business Ownership by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Unemployment Rate	Increasing
Unemployment Rate by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Prekindergarten Participation	Not Applicable
Female Enrollment in School	Not Applicable
Chronically Absent Students	Increasing
Per-Student Spending	Increasing
Bullying	Maintaining
Student Performance on Grade 3 Reading	Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 8 Math by Student Group	Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 10 English Language Arts	Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 10 Math	Not Applicable
High School Cohort Graduation Rate	Increasing
High School Cohort Graduation Rate by Student Group	Not Applicable
Education Levels of Adults	Not Applicable
Bachelor's Degree or Higher by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Income in Relation to Poverty Level	Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Median Household Income	Increasing
Median Household Income by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Median Household Income by Household Type	Not Applicable
Living Wage Rate by Household Type	Not Applicable
Access to Financial Services, by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Households Receiving Temporary Assistance	Increasing
Households Receiving Federal Food Assistance	Increasing
Participation in Food Assistance by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Earned Income Tax Credit Participation	Decreasing
Economically Disadvantaged Students	Increasing
Median Home Value	Increasing
Cost of Homeownership	Increasing
Cost of Renting	Increasing
Homeownership Rates	Maintaining
Homeownership Rates by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Homeless Persons	Not Applicable
People Without Health Insurance	Decreasing
Medical Care Expenses	Increasing
Prevalence of Children with Asthma	Maintaining
Prevalence of Overweight Children	Maintaining
Diabetes Incidence	Decreasing
Chronic Disease Among Older Adults	Increasing
Cancer Incidence	Decreasing
Cancer Mortality Rate	Decreasing
Heart Disease Mortality Rate	Decreasing
Mortality Rate	Decreasing
People who Smoke	Not Applicable
Use of Illegal Drugs	Not Applicable
Youth Use of Illegal Drugs	Not Applicable
Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions	Not Applicable
Drug Overdose Mortality Rate	Increasing
Prevalence of Mental Illness	Maintaining
Suicide Rate	Maintaining
Children Living in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Single-Parent Families by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Change in Population by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Unemployment Rate by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 3 Reading	Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 8 Math by Student Group	Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 10 English Language Arts	Not Applicable
Student Performance on Grade 10 Math	Not Applicable
High School Cohort Graduation Rate by Student Group	Not Applicable
Bachelor's Degree or Higher by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
People Living in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Median Household Income by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Participation in Food Assistance by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable
Homeownership Rates by Race/Ethnicity	Not Applicable

INDICATORS

TREND | ESSEX COUNTY