Photo: T.S. Custadio aka ToddC4176 at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Orleans’s public schools outscore 68% of Massachusetts districts
In Orleans, 55% of tested students read at a proficient level, above the Massachusetts average (44%). The grade covers the two public school districts serving Orleans, from kindergarten through graduation, on state tests and graduation. Each state writes its own tests, so this is the one TownRatings grade compared within Massachusetts, not nationally.
From Massachusetts state tests taken in spring 2022, when 95% of students in the tested grades sat them, and the class of 2023’s four-year graduation rate, as reported to the U.S. Department of Education.
Orleans’s schools, in brief
Better than its incomes would predict
Among the 286 Massachusetts towns with household incomes within a quarter of Orleans’s, its schools beat 87%, higher than their 68% against all the state’s districts. The grade ↓
Orleans runs its own schools through grade 5, then shares
Orleans Elementary (K–5) is Orleans’s own. From grade 6, students attend the Nauset School District with Brewster, Eastham and Wellfleet: Nauset Regional Middle, then Nauset Regional High in North Eastham. The high school’s own results earn an A+, the highest on the path; the middle school earns a B−. See the path ↓
Above the state on both counts
Reading proficiency is 55% and math 48% across both districts in spring 2022, against 44% and 41% statewide; 95% of the class of 2023 graduated in four years, against 89%. Test scores ↓
Spending and class size
Nauset spends $33,784 per student and Orleans $46,141, against $26,530 across Massachusetts (FY2024). Neither counts toward the grade. Districts ↓
Written from the figures on this page. Tests are from 2021–22, graduation from the class of 2023; each school’s own letter uses 2020–21 results.
What’s behind Orleans’s grade
B+: better than 68% of Massachusetts school districts, #88 of 283 Massachusetts towns. Test scores and graduation are both above the Massachusetts average; test scores are the stronger of the two.
Where will my kid go?
Pick a grade. These are the public schools that serve Orleans, with each school’s own grade.
Kindergarten in Orleans
Orleans Elementary
Grades K–5 · 149 students · 7:1 students per teacher
1st grade in Orleans
Orleans Elementary
Grades K–5 · 149 students · 7:1 students per teacher
2nd grade in Orleans
Orleans Elementary
Grades K–5 · 149 students · 7:1 students per teacher
3rd grade in Orleans
Orleans Elementary
Grades K–5 · 149 students · 7:1 students per teacher
4th grade in Orleans
Orleans Elementary
Grades K–5 · 149 students · 7:1 students per teacher
5th grade in Orleans
Orleans Elementary
Grades K–5 · 149 students · 7:1 students per teacher
6th grade in Orleans
Nauset Regional Middle
Grades 6–8 · 455 students · 9:1 students per teacher
7th grade in Orleans
Nauset Regional Middle
Grades 6–8 · 455 students · 9:1 students per teacher
8th grade in Orleans
Nauset Regional Middle
Grades 6–8 · 455 students · 9:1 students per teacher
9th grade in Orleans
Nauset Regional High
Grades 9–12 · 737 students · 10:1 students per teacher · in North Eastham
10th grade in Orleans
Nauset Regional High
Grades 9–12 · 737 students · 10:1 students per teacher · in North Eastham
Orleans runs its own schools through grade 5 (Orleans School District). From grade 6, students attend the Nauset School District, shared with Brewster, Eastham and Wellfleet. Its high school is in North Eastham. To confirm the school for a specific address, ask the district.
Two districts serve Orleans
Spending and class size are shown but don’t count toward the grade. Each district’s own page has every school.
Well above the state in reading
Orleans vs. its neighbors
Schools grades for the Massachusetts towns that share Orleans’s borders.
| Town | Schools | Main districts |
|---|---|---|
| Orleans | B+ | Orleans K–5 · Nauset 6–12 |
| Eastham | B | Eastham PK–5 · Nauset 6–12 |
| Brewster | B | Brewster PK–5 · Nauset 6–12 |
| Harwich | B | Monomoy Regional |
| Chatham | B | Monomoy Regional |
2 of the 4 neighbors share Nauset with Orleans for grades 6–12, so their letters differ mainly through the lower grades.
Every school in Orleans
3 schools. Each public school’s letter compares its own 2020–21 reading and math results with Massachusetts’s other public schools (the newest school-level results we have).
Questions about Orleans’s schools
Are Orleans’s schools good?
By Massachusetts’s own tests, yes: the public schools Orleans children attend outscore 68% of Massachusetts’s school districts on tests and graduation, a B+ Schools grade, #88 of 283 Massachusetts towns. Among towns with similar incomes they beat 87%. Tests are from 2021–22, graduation from the class of 2023.
What school district is Orleans in?
Two districts: Orleans School District runs grades K–5, and Nauset School District runs grades 6–12, shared with Brewster, Eastham and Wellfleet.
Where do Orleans kids go to high school?
Nauset Regional High in North Eastham, with 737 students; its own test results earn an A+.
What is Orleans’s graduation rate?
95% of the class of 2023 in Nauset School District graduated in four years, against 89% across Massachusetts.
How much does Orleans spend per student?
$33,784 in Nauset School District and $46,141 in Orleans School District (FY2024), against $26,530 across Massachusetts. Spending doesn’t count toward the grade.
Parents talk
What Orleans families are saying about school.
Looking for colleges? Colleges near Orleans → They have their own page.
School data: state test results (2021–22, with participation) and four-year graduation rates (class of 2023) reported to the U.S. Department of Education (EDFacts via ED Data Express); each school’s own letter uses its 2020–21 results (EDFacts via the Urban Institute); schools and enrollment from NCES (2024–25; private schools 2023–24); spending from the Census Bureau’s school finance survey (FY2024). The School Grade is our own summary, graded within Massachusetts. Stars are from neighbors.