Massachusetts is the 'most educated' state. Are its schools actually easy? What the numbers show

Massachusetts loves to call itself the most educated state in America. A lot of residents also say the opposite is happening inside its schools: standards have gone soft, and kids get pushed through to keep graduation numbers looking good.

Both ideas contain some truth. But they measure very different things, and one of them goes further than the data supports. Here is what the numbers actually say.

What "most educated" really measures

The "most educated" title usually comes from WalletHub's annual ranking. Its 2026 edition put Massachusetts first again, ranking it No. 1 for educational attainment and No. 4 for quality of education.

The attainment piece is about adults, not kids. According to WalletHub, more than 47% of Massachusetts residents age 25 and older have at least a bachelor's degree, and nearly 22% have a graduate or professional degree, both the highest in the country (Boston.com).

That number includes everyone who moved here for Harvard, MIT, hospitals and biotech jobs. So "most educated state" says a lot about the adult workforce and less about how hard it is to get through a Massachusetts high school today.

The part of the claim that holds up: the graduation test is gone

For about two decades, Massachusetts students had to pass the 10th grade MCAS in English, math and science to get a diploma. In November 2024, voters approved Question 2, which ended that requirement.

Students still have to earn what the state calls a Competency Determination. But since the class of 2026, they earn it by completing coursework that their own district certifies as meeting state standards: two years of high school English, Algebra I and Geometry (or the integrated math equivalent), and a year of a lab science such as biology, chemistry or physics (state regulation; Mass.gov).

In plain terms: there is no longer one statewide test that every student has to pass. Each district decides whether its own students met the bar. That is a real change, and it is the strongest part of the "they pass kids through" argument.

Scores are falling while diplomas hold steady

The 2026 MCAS results, released September 22, were rough. Only 45% of 10th graders met expectations in English, down from 51% a year earlier and about 61% before the pandemic. Tenth grade math slipped to 44% (WBUR; Boston.com).

Meanwhile, the statewide four-year graduation rate for the class of 2025 was 89.3% (DESE), about one point below the 2022 record of 90%. Boston Public Schools hit 81%, its highest since the state began tracking in 2006 (Boston Globe).

That gap is what critics point to. A Washington Post editorial argued Boston's record graduation rate does not match its test scores. Mayor Michelle Wu has said the gains came without "lowering any expectations."

There is a catch in reading the 2026 scores, though. Because the high school MCAS no longer counts toward graduation, some students may simply not try as hard on it. State Education Commissioner Pedro Martinez said "part of that is motivation" (GBH), and the Boston Globe noted it is unclear whether students are less prepared or less motivated. Probably some of both.

The part that doesn't hold up: "one of the easiest in the country"

On the national test that compares every state the same way, Massachusetts is still at or near the top. On the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress, often called the Nation's Report Card, Massachusetts fourth graders averaged 246 in math versus 237 nationally, and 51% scored proficient (NCES). The state ranked first in both fourth and eighth grade math (ExcelinEd summary).

Massachusetts also sets one of the toughest bars for what counts as "proficient" on its own test. When federal researchers translated each state's fourth grade reading standard onto the national scale, Massachusetts came in at 242, the highest of any state listed and above the national "Proficient" line. Some states set theirs far lower; Iowa's mapped to 197 (NCES state mapping, 2022).

So when you hear that only about 40% of Massachusetts kids "meet expectations," that is partly because the expectations are high. A student who misses the MCAS bar might clear the bar in many other states.

That said, being first is not the same as being good enough. The same NAEP data shows Massachusetts eighth graders scored more than a grade level below their 2019 peers in math, and gaps for Black, Hispanic and low-income students widened (ExcelinEd summary; WBUR).

Are schools passing kids through on purpose?

There is no public evidence of a statewide effort to push unprepared students through to protect graduation numbers. What does exist is a system where the old statewide check is gone, each district now certifies its own graduates, and test scores and graduation rates are moving in different directions. Reasonable people can read that as a warning sign.

The class of 2026 was the first to graduate fully under the new coursework rules. Its graduation rate has not been released yet. If it jumps while 10th grade scores keep sliding, the "passing kids through" argument gets a lot stronger.

What happens next

The state is building a replacement. Gov. Maura Healey's graduation council proposed a framework in June that includes a required set of courses called MassCore, end-of-course exams, a senior capstone project or portfolio, and financial and AI literacy milestones (WBUR; Mass.gov).

But the first regulations, previewed to the state education board on October 27, only set what high schools must offer. Officials said any new requirements students must meet to graduate would need action from the Legislature (State House News Service). MassCore would start with ninth graders entering in fall 2027, so it will be years before a new statewide standard affects diplomas.

The bottom line

• "Most educated" is true, but it's mostly about adults, many of whom were educated elsewhere.
• Massachusetts schools are not among the easiest in the country. They still lead on the national test and set one of the highest proficiency bars.
• The diploma did get easier to earn in one important way: no statewide exit test, with districts certifying their own students.
• Scores are falling while graduation stays high, and that gap is worth watching when class of 2026 numbers come out.

Cover: AI illustration, not a real classroom.