High School Enrollment
The High School Enrollment chart shows the total number of Massachusetts students in grades 9 through 12 at all public schools (including public charter and virtual schools).
Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Enrollment by Grade
Key Takeaways:
- High school enrollment peaked in 2018 with 291,139 students.
- The pandemic impacted enrollment during the 2021 and 2022 school years with a two-year decline totaling 1.0% of high school enrollment.
- In 2025, enrollment in grades 9-12 decreased slightly after small increases in 2023 and 2024.
- Enrollment is expected to continue to decline over the next 15 years, based on demographic trends.
High School Graduation
The High School Graduation Rate chart shows the percentage of Massachusetts public school students in each graduation cohort who graduated within four years of starting high school. Students who earn high school equivalency are not counted as graduates. Students who graduate in their fifth year of high school are not included in this measure but are included in five-year graduation rate data.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, High School Graduation Rates
By default, this chart shows all students across the Commonwealth. Use the dropdown menu at the top of the chart to view data for a specific student group. The charts below compare select student groups. Find graduation and other high school outcomes by school district in the District Analysis Review Tool (DART) for Success After High School.
Key Takeaways:
- Overall, the graduation rate across Massachusetts increased by nearly 3 percentage points between 2015 and 2022 and declined in 2023 and 2024.
- Every year between 2020 and 2024, students in foster care and those experiencing homelessness had the lowest four-year graduation rates, between 56.7% and 68.1% each year. The data were not reported prior to 2020.
- The graduation rate for English learners hovered around 64% from 2015 to 2019 and then rose, reaching a peak of 73.1% in 2022 and narrowing the gap with other student groups. The rate fell over the last two years to 66.7% in 2024.
The High School Graduation Rate by Gender and High School Graduation Rate by Race/Ethnicity charts compare the graduation rate by student groups. Each line in the charts represents one group of Massachusetts graduates. Hover over a specific point to see the data for that year. By default, the chart by race/ethnicity shows all students and the four largest categories of race/ethnicity in Massachusetts. Use the dropdown menu at the top of the chart to change the selection of student groups.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, High School Graduation Rates
Key Takeaways:
- A higher percentage of female students than male students graduated in four years.
- While graduation rates declined for both male and female students in 2023 and 2024, the gap between genders has narrowed.
- Asian students had the highest percentage of students graduating in four years, with graduation rates ranging from 92.4% to 96.2% between 2015 and 2024.
- Over the last 10 years, Hispanic or Latino and Black or African American students had the lowest four-year graduation rates by race and ethnicity, between 72.2% and 85.6%. However, the gap between these students and the student groups with the highest graduation rates (Asian and white students) has generally narrowed in recent years.
MassCore Completion
MassCore, the state’s recommended program of study for high schools, was developed in 2006-2007 to align coursework with college and workforce expectations. It includes successful completion of four units of English, four units of mathematics, three units of lab-based science, three units of history, two units of the same world language, one unit of the arts, and five additional core courses. Many Massachusetts public high schools have adopted MassCore as a minimum core requirement for graduation.
The MassCore Completion Rate chart shows the percentage of graduates who completed the MassCore program of study from 2015 through 2025. By default, this chart displays all Massachusetts graduates. Use the dropdown menu at the top of the chart to view data for a specific student group.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, MassCore Completion
Key Takeaways:
- More than four out of five high school graduates have completed the MassCore program of study each year since 2017.
- The rate of MassCore completion rose by 10 percentage points from 2015 to 2020 and remained steady around 83% from 2021 to 2024. Statewide rates overall and for most student groups dipped in 2025.
- English learners had the lowest MassCore completion rate at 59.2% in 2025. While the rate increased more than 25 percentage points over 10 years, it fell nearly 5 percentage points in 2025.
The MassCore Completion Rate by Gender and MassCore Completion Rate by Race/Ethnicity charts compare the percentage of Massachusetts high school graduates who completed the MassCore program of study by student groups.
Each line in the charts represents one group of Massachusetts graduates. Hover over a specific point to see the data for that year. By default, the chart by race/ethnicity shows all students and the four largest categories of race/ethnicity in Massachusetts. Use the dropdown menu at the top of the chart to change the selection of student groups. Small numbers of students in some student groups may lead to higher variability in outcomes from year to year.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, MassCore Completion
Key Takeaways:
- In 2025, 88.3% of white graduates, 81.7% of Asian graduates, 73.1% of Hispanic or Latino graduates, and 70.7% of Black or African American graduates completed MassCore.
- The completion rate for Black or African American graduates increased by more than 10 percentage points between 2020 and 2024. The rate decreased in 2025 by 3.4 percentage points.
- In 2025, 83.7% of female graduates completed the MassCore curriculum, while 80.6% of male graduates did so.
Participation in Designated High School College and Career Pathways
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) supports four College and Career Pathways, which are built into a high school’s program of study and typically completed during the school day. Participating students earn high school credits and may also earn college credits, industry-recognized credentials, work experience, and even wages for cooperative education (co-op) opportunities and internships. About half of all public high schools, 203 across Massachusetts, offered at least one Pathway in 2025:
1. Career Technical Education (Chapter 74)
These state-designated high school programs give students at least 900 hours of hands-on learning, including work-based learning experiences and opportunities to earn industry-recognized credentials. Career Technical Education Partnerships (formerly After Dark) expand student access to CTE programs through collaborative agreements between schools, taking advantage of existing capacity and resources, sometimes beyond the regular school day.
2. Career Connections (Non-Chapter 74)
Locally approved high school programs offer students a series of successive courses related to a specific industry or field as well as a work-based learning experience. Students can earn industry-recognized credentials and safety certifications.
State-approved high school programs provide broad exposure to high-demand industry sectors through a series of technical and advanced coursework and a 100-hour internship or work-based learning capstone experience.
State-approved partnerships enable high school students to earn at least 12 college credits on a guided academic path while still enrolled in and supported by their high school.
The Participation in High School Pathways chart shows the percentage of all Massachusetts public school students who participated in any of the designated high school College and Career Pathways from 2022 through 2025. It includes students in grades 9-12 and students receiving special education beyond grade 12. Individual students may participate in multiple Pathways.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Pathways/Programs Enrollment by Grade
Key Takeaways:
- More than 1 in 4 high school students (80,377 students) participated in a College and Career Pathway in 2025.
- From 2022 to 2025, Pathways enrollment grew by 17.3% while overall high school enrollment increased by less than 1%.
- Career Technical Education is the largest Pathway, with nearly 20% of all high school students participating each year.
- Innovation Career Pathways and Early College experienced the most growth but served the smallest percentage of students from 2022 to 2025.
The Composition by Gender of Participants in High School Pathways and Composition by Race/Ethnicity of Participants in High School Pathways charts display the proportion of participants for each Pathway disaggregated by student group.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Pathways/Programs Enrollment by Race/Gender
Key Takeaways:
- Participant gender varied between different Pathways. Male students made up 52.8% of students participating in any Pathway.
- In 2025, more male students participated in Career Technical Education and Career Connections, while female students comprised the majority of participants in Early College and Innovation Career Pathways.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Pathways/Programs Enrollment by Race/Gender
Key Takeaways:
- The composition of participant race and ethnicity varied by Pathway. The overall racial and ethnic composition of students participating in Pathways (the “All Pathways” bar) was similar to the composition of the high school population.
- Hispanic or Latino students had high participation in each of the Pathways, relative to the percentage of high school students who are Hispanic or Latino.
- Asian students and Black or African American students participated at higher rates in Early College, Career Connections, and Innovation Career Pathways, with lower rates in Career and Technical Education.
- White students had higher participation in Career Technical Education, relative to the percentage of all high school students who are white.
Advanced Placement Participation and Performance
In the spring of 2025, Massachusetts students took more than 130,000 Advanced Placement (AP) exams across seven subject areas (Arts, English Language Arts, Foreign Languages, History and Social Science, Math and Computer Science, Science and Technology, and Capstone).
The Advanced Placement Tests Taken by Year chart represents the number of AP tests taken across Massachusetts. Use the buttons at the top of the chart to view data by student race or ethnicity, gender, or test subject area.
Note: These charts show the number of AP tests taken, not the number of students who took AP tests. If one student took three tests in a given year, each of the three tests is counted separately.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Advanced Placement (AP) Participation
Key Takeaways:
- The number of AP tests taken statewide rose quickly between 2021 and 2025, increasing 25% since its previous peak in 2019.
- White students took more AP tests than any other race/ethnicity group in every year. The number of tests taken has grown over time for each race/ethnicity group.
- Female students took a slight majority of AP tests every year.
- The number of tests by subject area does not necessarily reflect student interest, because there are different numbers of tests available in each subject area.
AP exams are graded on a scale of 1-5. Generally, a score of 3 or higher is accepted by most colleges as passing an AP exam. The Advanced Placement Test Passing Rate chart shows the percent of AP tests taken in which students scored a 3 or higher.
By default, this chart shows the performance of all students in all subject areas. Select a student group and choose one or more test subjects to filter your results.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Advanced Placement (AP) Performance
Key Takeaways:
- Passing rates stayed relatively flat until the COVID-19 pandemic. The passing rate jumped to 71.6% in 2020, though 7% fewer tests were taken that year than in 2019.
- After a dip in 2021, passing rates rose each year to 75.7% in 2025, surpassing the 2020 peak.
- Passing rates were highest for Foreign Languages and Capstone test subjects for all years since 2015.
- Passing rates for English Language Arts, History and Social Science, Science and Technology, and Math and Computer Science have all increased since 2021 to their highest levels in 2025.
- Asian students, multi-race students who are not Hispanic or Latino, and white students had the highest passing rates among race/ethnicity groups. Male students had a slightly higher passing rate than female students.
Graduates Attending College
Massachusetts tracks the enrollment of Massachusetts public high school graduates into postsecondary education by type:
- Private four-year institutions, both in-state and out-of-state
- Public four-year institutions, including both in-state public institutions (state universities and University of Massachusetts campuses) and out-of-state publicinstitutions
- Public two-year institutions, including most community colleges
The following charts exclude graduates who enroll a year or more after high school graduation, as well as students who are enrolled through Early College or dual enrollment programs.
Note: Fewer than 0.1% of Massachusetts students attend private two-year institutions and are omitted here.
Overall College Attendance:
The College or University Attendance chart displays the percentage of Massachusetts high school graduates attending any of the institutions of higher education listed above by March of the year following their high school graduation.
By default, this chart displays all students. Use the dropdown menu at the top right to select a specific student group.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, High School Graduates Attending Higher Education
Key Takeaways:
- Prior to 2020, the percentage of all Massachusetts high school graduates attending higher education institutions hovered between 72% and 74%. In the years since the pandemic, the rate has been about 10 percentage points lower.
- Between 2019 and 2020, college attendance for English learners dropped 18.3 percentage points, the largest drop of any student group. Attendance rates for English learners declined an additional 2.6 percentage points from 2020 to 2023 but rose by 1 percentage point in 2024.
College Attendance by Gender and Race/Ethnicity:
The College or University Attendance by Gender and College or University Attendance by Race/Ethnicity charts show the percentage of Massachusetts high school graduates attending any of the higher education institutions listed above by March of the year following their high school graduation.
Each line in the charts represents one group of Massachusetts students. By default, the chart by race/ethnicity shows all students and the four largest categories of race/ethnicity in Massachusetts. Use the dropdown to explore college or university attendance by race/ethnicity in detail.
Small numbers of students in some student groups leads to higher variability in outcomes from year to year.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, High School Graduates Attending Higher Education
Key Takeaways:
- In 2024, the gap in college attendance between female and male students continued to widen, with 71.1% of female students and 56.3% of male students attending college.
- The college attendance rate for Black or African American students dropped sharply from 2019 to 2020 but has increased steadily since 2021 to 59.5% in 2024.
- The college attendance rate for Hispanic or Latino students increased 4.5 percentage points since its lowest point in 2022 and was 43.0% in 2024.
College Attendance by Institution Type:
The College or University Attendance by Institution Type chart shows the trend over past decade. Each line represents the percentage of high school graduates in that year who attended that type of institution by March of the year following their high school graduation.
By default, this chart displays all Massachusetts high school graduates. Use the dropdown menu at the top of the chart to change the selection of student groups.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, High School Graduates Attending Higher Education
Key Takeaways:
- Just over half of 2024 high school graduates attended a four-year college or university, with similar numbers choosing public and private institutions.
- The decline in college attendance is largely driven by decreasing enrollment at public two-year institutions, which fell from 17.9% in 2015 to 10.4% in 2023. However in 2024, the percentage of high school graduates attending two-year institutions increased to 11.5%.
- The percentage of students with disabilities graduating high school in 2024 who attended public four-year universities increased to 16.4%, surpassing the pre-pandemic high of 15.2%.
In-State Public College/University Attendance:
The Massachusetts Public Higher Education Attendance by Segment chart shows the trend in the percent of high school graduates attending Massachusetts public higher education institutions. These include:
- Massachusetts Community Colleges
- Massachusetts State Universities
- University of Massachusetts (UMass) campuses
Each line represents the percentage of Massachusetts high school graduates who attend that type of institution by March of the year following their high school graduation. By default, the chart shows data for all high school graduates. Use the dropdown menu at the top of the chart to select a specific student group.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, High School Graduates Attending Higher Education
Key Takeaways:
- Massachusetts community college attendance steadily declined from 2015 to 2023, dropping more sharply during the pandemic (from 15.7% in 2019 to 11.4% in 2020). In 2024, attendance rates increased for the first time in a decade.
- The percentage of high school graduates attending Massachusetts state universities stayed relatively flat for the high school graduating classes of 2015 through 2019, but the rate dropped during the pandemic and has not recovered.
- The percentage of students attending UMass campuses increased among the high school graduating classes of 2016 to 2019 and then decreased for classes graduating in 2020 and 2021. The attendance rate has since remained relatively flat for all students.
- Select student groups, however, are attending UMass campuses at higher rates than any time in the past decade. For example, among the graduating high school class of 2024, 13.2% of Black or African American students and 5.3% of students with disabilities attended UMass.
College Persistence
Massachusetts tracks students who graduate from public high schools as they enroll in and attend public, private, or out-of-state institutions of higher education.
The Persistence in College or University by Gender and Persistence in College or University by Race/Ethnicity charts show the percentage of Massachusetts students persisting into a second year of college, whether at the same or a different institution. It includes all public high school graduates who first enrolled in postsecondary public or private education in the immediate fall after high school graduation.
Each line in the charts represents one group of Massachusetts students. By default, the chart by race/ethnicity shows all students and the four largest categories of race/ethnicity in Massachusetts. Use the dropdown to explore persistence by race/ethnicity in detail.
Source: Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, DART: Success After High School
Key Takeaways:
- College persistence has been trending upward for all students since the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching its highest point in a decade in 2023.
- Across all years, female students persisted to their second year at a higher rate than male students. Persistence rates for both genders were highest in 2022 and 2023.
- Asian and white students had higher persistence rates than Black or African American and Hispanic or Latino students. This gap ranged from about 10 to 20 percentage points between 2015 and 2023.
Earnings Outcomes of High School Graduates
This section is unchanged from the 2023 report. It will be updated when data are available.
The report on wage outcomes shows data on employment and earnings of high school graduates. For graduation years prior to 2017 approximately 85-90% of graduates can be found in the wage record system; in more recent years a data integration issue has led to lower match rates (find more detail in the dataset description).
Additionally, data are not included for:
- Those employed outside Massachusetts, self-employed individuals, and federal employees
- The number of hours worked
- Hourly rate of employment
The Average Real Earnings figure show earnings trends of high school graduate cohorts six years after graduation, accounting for inflation (using 2021 dollars). Each line represents one group of Massachusetts students. By default, the chart by race/ethnicity shows all students and the four largest categories of race/ethnicity in Massachusetts. Use the dropdown to explore average real earnings by race/ethnicity in detail.
Source: Executive Office of Education, Average Earnings of High School Graduates by Student Group
Key Takeaways:
- Graduates from more recent cohorts earned more, on average, than earlier cohorts.
- White and Asian graduates typically earned more than Black or frican American and Hispanic or Latino graduates.
- Across all years, female graduates earned less than male graduates on average. The gap has widened for more recent cohorts.
Earnings Outcomes of Public College and University Graduates
The Department of Higher Education’s Performance Measurement Reporting System (PMRS) publishes post-enrollment earnings of certain cohorts of Massachusetts public high school graduates enrolling in Massachusetts public colleges and universities immediately after high school. The Economic Mobility dashboard shows median earnings one, three, and five years after obtaining a degree at each community college and state university, compared to earnings of Massachusetts residents with a high school diploma alone. The data also show earnings of college and university students who exit without earning a degree.
| Date published: | October 20, 2026 |
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| Last updated: | October 20, 2026 |