Fast Facts
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Worcester

Key educational benchmarks
Worcester Massachusetts
% of third graders who meet or exceed expectations in reading (Next-generation MCAS, 2019) 37% 56%
% of students graduating high school within four years 87.3% 89.0%
Early education and care
   
% of children under age 6 with all parents in the labor force 69.8%
73.5%
# of preschool-aged (3-5 yrs) children 6,832
224,901
% of 3- and 4-year-old children enrolled in an early education program (estimate only) 49.4%
59.5%
# of public schools with preschool classrooms 18
518
# of licensed center-based programs, pre-COVID* 36
2,892
# of licensed family child care providers, pre-COVID* 289
5,330
K-12 education1
   
# of students enrolled in public school 23,986
911,465
% of public school students identified as economically disadvantaged 64.3%
36.6%
% of public school students whose first language is not English 58.7%
23.4%
% of public school students receiving special education services 21.2%
18.7%
% of public school kindergarten students attending full-day kindergarten 100.0%
93.8%
 
Child population
Birth-5 6-18
  Worcester Massachusetts Worcester Massachusetts
# of children 14,134 442,592 29,465 1,074,498
% of children living below the poverty line2 26.7%
14.2%
27.1%
12.7%
% who are Black or African American 14.6% 7.4% 13.1% 7.3%
% who are Asian 6.2% 6.3% 6.8% 5.2%
% who are Hispanic or Latino 34.1% 16.9% 32.5% 13.9%
% who are White 38.9% 63.1% 42.4% 69.1%
% of students who are another race, or two or more races3 6.2% 6.2% 5.1% 4.4%
   
* Community data calculated by SFC, 2016. Visit EEC for most recent local data. Massachusetts totals pre-COVID from early 2020. available in EEC Board Meeting, March 9, 2021.
1 Community data excludes charter and vocational schools. Economically disadvantaged is calculated based on a student's participation in one or more of the following state-administered programs: the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); the Transitional Assistance for Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC); the Department of Children and Families' (DCF) foster care program; and MassHealth (Medicaid).
2 Includes children birth to 17. The 2017 federal poverty guideline for a family of four is $24,600 per year.
3 Includes American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander.
Sources: Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, US Census 2010, ACS 15-19.
 
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