Best Schools in Arlington, Massachusetts

Arlington, Massachusetts runs 11 ranked public schools with an average score of 8.5 out of 10 — a number that stands out because every single one of those 11 schools clears the 7.0 threshold. In most cities, a handful of lower-performing schools drag the average down. In Arlington, 100% of ranked schools score 7 or higher, which means parents here are largely choosing among strong options rather than navigating around weak ones.

The top of the roster is led by John A. Bishop Elementary, the city's highest-rated school at 9.1 out of 10. Ottoson Middle School matches that mark at 9.1, making Arlington one of the few cities where the top elementary and top middle school sit at the same tier. Arlington High School follows at 8.8, and Peirce Elementary and Cyrus E. Dallin Elementary round out the top five at 8.8 and 8.7 respectively. The compression at the top is notable — five schools within four-tenths of a point of each other signals a system that performs consistently rather than relying on one flagship campus to carry the numbers.

The practical implication for parents: the usual question of "will I be zoned to a good school?" carries less weight in Arlington than in most cities. With all 11 ranked schools above 7.0 and a system-wide average of 8.5, the floor here is high. The elementary tier in particular shows real depth — Bishop, Peirce, and Dallin all land at or near that average, so families assigned to any of them are starting from a strong position.

Parents comparing Arlington to neighboring communities should weight the consistency story. A city average of 8.5 with no schools below 7.0 is a harder profile to match than a city with one or two flagship 9-plus schools pulling up a weaker median. Arlington delivers strong outcomes across the board, not just at the top of the chart.