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Where does MA rank in public education? A Consumer Affairs study looks at each state

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Where does MA rank in public education? A Consumer Affairs study looks at each state


A study by Consumer Affairs found that Massachusetts has the best public schools in the country.

Massachusetts, which ranked first on the Consumer Affairs study, is followed by New York (2), New Jersey (3), Washington State (4) and Pennsylvania (5). The study covered K-12 schools and colleges as well.

The top states for education have a few things in common, according to the study, “including a 90% or higher high school graduation rate, low pupil-to-teacher ratios and high test scores. The majority of these states are also located in the Northeast.”

According to the study, “to determine the states with the best public schools in the U.S., the Consumer Affairs research team compared all 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., across four categories: K-12 performance, school funding and resources, higher education quality and safety.”

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Why did the study rank Massachusetts at the top

The following are different takeaways about public education in Massachusetts, according to the Consumer Affairs study:

  • The state boasts the highest high school graduation rate in the U.S. at 96.1%.
  • Massachusetts ties Connecticut for having the highest average ACT score (26.4 out of a highest possible score of 36). The national average is 19.5. ACT tests are standardized tests used for college admissions in the United States. 
  • Massachusetts has the best fourth-grade reading and eighth-grade math scores in the country on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests.
  • On average, Massachusetts teachers have the third-highest teaching salary in the country, at $92,307 per year, 33% above the national average.
  • The state dedicates $25,826 in expenditures per K-12 student, the fifth-highest in the nation.

How did Massachusetts rank for school safety?

The study noted that the Bay State ranks 34th in the country for school safety.

South Dakota ranked highest in school safety.

According to the study, the safety score is based on three metrics: whether the state has a school safety board as of 2022, the number of gun violence incidents at all schools per 100,000 students from 2022 to 2024 and the number of reported criminal offenses at colleges per 10,000 students in 2022.

What are the top 10 states for public education?

The top 10 states for public education are:

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  • Massachusetts (1)
  • New York (2)
  • New Jersey (3)
  • Washington (4)
  • Pennsylvania (5)
  • Vermont (6)
  • Minnesota (7)
  • Connecticut (8)
  • Virginia (9)
  • Wisconsin (10)

Which states ranked poorly for public education?

The bottom five states in the study are:

  • Arizona (51)
  • Alabama (50)
  • New Mexico (49)
  • Oklahoma (48)
  • Idaho (47)

Where do other New England states rank in the study?

Maine is ranked 13th overall, Rhode Island is ranked 15th overall and New Hampshire is ranked 16th overall.



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Massachusetts

Obituary for Peter J. Grudzien at Daniel T. Morrill Funeral Home

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Obituary for Peter J. Grudzien at Daniel T. Morrill Funeral Home


North Brookfield / Sturbridge Peter J. Grudzien, 85, formerly a longtime resident of Sturbridge, passed away on Friday, Sept. 19th, in the UMass Memorial Health Harrington, Southbridge, after a long illness. He leaves his wife of 66 years, Willa A. Power Grudzien his son, Bill Grudzien and his wife Denise



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N.H. leads 25 states in seeking Supreme Court review of ‘unconstitutional’ Mass. gun law

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N.H. leads 25 states in seeking Supreme Court review of ‘unconstitutional’ Mass. gun law


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The effort calls into question whether or not Massachusetts’ firearm regulations for out-of-state visitors are unconstitutional.

The attorneys general of 25 Republican-led states say that Massachusetts’ gun regulations pose a constitutional problem. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

New Hampshire is leading an effort from 25 states to challenge a Massachusetts gun law, and this month, they’re taking it to the Supreme Court.

The centerpiece of the argument is the Pheasant Lane Mall in Nashua, N.H., which reaches across state lines into Tyngsborough. If shoppers park on the south side of the mall’s parking lot, they might end up crossing state lines during a visit.

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The attorneys general of New Hampshire and 24 other Republican-led states say this poses a potential problem for firearm holders. A New Hampshire resident who is legally carrying a firearm on their home state’s side of the parking lot may inadvertently be breaking the law when they cross the lot into Massachusetts, where it is illegal to carry without a permit.

Joining New Hampshire are the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming, who are calling the arrangement unconstitutional. The states have rallied behind Phillip Marquis of Rochester, N.H., to ask the Supreme Court to protect out-of-state residents from Massachusetts’ firearms regulations.

“The geography of the mall is such that a New Hampshire resident might find themselves in Massachusetts if she parks on the south side of the parking lot or visits Buffalo Wild Wings,” reads a brief from the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office to the Supreme Court. “If that person is carrying a firearm without a Massachusetts license — which would be constitutionally protected activity in most of the mall—that person risks being charged as a felon and facing mandatory incarceration in Massachusetts.”

The trouble began for Marquis in 2022 when he was in a car accident in Massachusetts, according to the brief. When police arrived, he informed them that he had a pistol on him and was subsequently charged with carrying a firearm without a license.

Marquis previously sued the Commonwealth for the burdens that Massachusetts’ firearms permit law creates on out-of-state visitors, but the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court denied his claims. They ruled in March that the state’s nonresident firearms licensing laws were constitutional, according to court documents.

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Claiming that the Massachusetts court denied him his Second and Fourteenth Amendment rights, Marquis has petitioned the Supreme Court to federally overrule that court’s decision. In his petition, Marquis invoked New York State Rifle & Police Association, Inc. v. Bruen, where the court established that state firearms restrictions must be covered by the Second Amendment or adhere to historical firearms regulations.

Using Bruen, Marquis and the Republican attorneys general supporting him are aiming to prove that there is no justification for applying Massachusetts’ firearms restrictions to out-of-state residents and that to do so would be unconstitutional. However, the state’s Supreme Judicial Court found the law constitutional even under Bruen because it intends to prevent dangerous people from obtaining firearms, just as historical regulations have done.

“To the extent that the Commonwealth restricts the ability of law-abiding citizens to carry firearms within its borders, the justification for so doing is credible, individualized evidence that the person in question would pose a danger if armed,” the Supreme Judicial Court’s decision read. “Both case law and the historical record unequivocally indicate that this justification is consistent with ‘the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.’”

It’s not immediately clear if the Supreme Court will respond to Marquis’ appeal or when it will make any kind of decision, but lower courts are at something of a crossroads with how and when to apply Bruen to gun possession cases. As such, they are looking to the Supreme Court for a more definitive answer.

Since the proof of historical context that Bruen requires has led to some uncertainty, any ruling that these lower courts make is likely to amount to a partisan decision. However, if the Supreme Court provides more substantive clarity in a response to Marquis, these lower courts just might find the answer they are seeking.

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Mass. State Lottery winner: 2 $100,000 Mass Cash prizes won Friday

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Mass. State Lottery winner: 2 0,000 Mass Cash prizes won Friday


Massachusetts State Lottery players won two $100,000 prizes Friday from the day’s “Mass Cash” drawings.

The winning tickets were sold at the Roslindale Food Mart on Washington Street and McSheffrey’s of the South End convenience store (with Mobil gas) on Main Street in Woburn.

Mass Cash drawings happen twice daily, at 2 p.m. and at 9 p.m. It costs just $1 to play.

Overall, at least 625 prizes worth $600 or more were won or claimed in Massachusetts on Monday, including 6 in Springfield, 22 in Worcester and 14 in Boston.

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The Massachusetts State Lottery releases a full list of winning tickets every day. The list only includes winning tickets worth more than $600.

The two largest lottery prizes won so far in 2025 were each worth $15 million. One of the prizes was from a winning “Diamond Deluxe” scratch ticket sold in Holyoke, and the other was from a “300X” scratch ticket sold on Cape Cod.

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