America’s Best Public Elementary, Middle, and High Schools By Region

You have children in school now or have little ones who are soon to begin. Are you excited about the school they attend, or concerned about its quality?

Despite news to the contrary, America is blessed with thousands of excellent public schools which are chock full of exceptional teachers, managed by top-notch administrators, and filled with outstanding students. But where are these top schools, and is there one near you?

NeighborhoodScout.com did all the research using its patent-pending school quality rating algorithm, based on both national and state-specific test scores, to uncover the very best of the best. We searched over 100,000 public schools in all 50 states to come up with this highly selective list of winners. For the first time ever, NeighborhoodScout’s exclusive school ratings system allows parents, teachers and others to accurately compare the quality of individual schools in different states using the rich data from the No Child Left Behind test scores, despite the No Child Left Behind tests being state-specific. The results are truly eye-opening.

Our approach gives top scores based on outcomes. That is, our ratings are based on outstanding student test scores. Some may give an A for effort, or even for year-over-year improvement. Yet trying hardest doesn’t mean achieving the highest scores, and being most improved does not mean the best. Here we focus on those schools that prove they are the best by being tops in student test scores. All of the schools included here are classified by the U.S. Department of Education as regular elementary or secondary schools. Some are charter schools, some are magnet schools, but all are public. That means they are free if you live in the area where you can attend them. No private school pricing here. Some are in modestly priced communities, and some are in expensive towns. Without further delay, here are America’s 5 best Public Elementary, Middle, and High Schools by region: Northeast, South, Midwest, and West. The regions are those defined by the U.S. Bureau of the Census.

The winners are:

Northeast - Top 5 Public Elementary Schools
	School Name	National Educational Rating	State Educational Rating	City	State
1	MURACO	99.99	99.58	WINCHESTER	MA
2	JOHN WARD	99.98	99.05	NEWTON CENTRE	MA
3	PLACENTINO ELEMENTARY	99.97	98.73	HOLLISTON	MA
4	PELHAM ELEMENTARY	99.97	98.58	PELHAM	MA
5	PRESCOTT ELEMENTARY	99.95	97.81	GROTON	MA
Northeast - Top 5 Public Middle Schools
1	WM DIAMOND MIDDLE	99.93	96.78	LEXINGTON	MA
2	BLANCHARD MIDDLE	99.91	95.69	WESTFORD	MA
3	JONAS CLARKE MIDDLE	99.9	95.63	LEXINGTON	MA
4	ANDOVER WEST MIDDLE	99.9	95.51	ANDOVER	MA
5	THOMAS BLAKE MIDDLE	99.9	95.33	MEDFIELD	MA
Northeast - Top 5 Public High Schools
1	DOVER-SHERBORN REG HIGH	100	100	DOVER	MA
4	MEDFIELD SENIOR HIGH	99.99	99.94	MEDFIELD	MA
3	BOSTON LATIN	99.99	99.88	BOSTON	MA
2	ACTON-BOXBOROUGH REG HIGH	99.99	99.67	ACTON	MA
5	WELLESLEY SR HIGH	99.99	99.52	WELLESLEY	MA
South - Top 5 Public Elementary Schools
1	FREEDOM 7 ELEMENTARY/INTERNATIONAL STUDIES	99.7	99.96	COCOA BEACH	FL
2	HARTRIDGE ACADEMY	99.66	99.92	WINTER HAVEN	FL
3	JACKSONVILLE BEACH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	99.6	99.84	JACKSONVILLE BEACH	FL
4	BEVIS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	99.54	99.8	LITHIA	FL
5	MANN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	99.41	99.41	WASHINGTON	DC
South - Top 5 Public Middle Schools
1	GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER MIDDLE SCHOOL	99.39	99.64	MIAMI	FL
2	HERBERT A. AMMONS MIDDLE SCHOOL	98.43	97.98	MIAMI	FL
3	JAMES WELDON JOHNSON MIDDLE	98.43	97.98	JACKSONVILLE	FL
4	SCAPA AT BLUEGRASS	97.91	99.41	LEXINGTON	KY
5	HERBERT HOOVER MIDDLE	97.38	97.57	ROCKVILLE	MD
South - Top 5 Pubic High Schools
1	INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE	99.73	100	BARTOW	FL
2	BANNEKER HIGH SCHOOL	99.66	100	WASHINGTON	DC
3	OWC COLLEGIATE HIGH SCHOOL	99.53	99.77	NICEVILLE	FL
4	STANTON COLLEGE PREPARATORY	99.48	99.71	JACKSONVILLE	FL
5	WESTSHORE JUNIOR/SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL	99.3	99.58	MELBOURNE	FL
Midwest - Top 5 Public Elementary Schools
1	MARBLE ELEMENTARY	99.89	100	MARBLE	MN
2	RIVERSIDE ELEMENTARY	99.78	99.77	BRAINERD	MN
3	NORMANDALE ELEMENTARY	99.73	99.72	EDINA	MN
4	WASHINGTON ELEMENTARY	99.66	99.66	ROCHESTER	MN
5	PLYMOUTH CREEK ELEMENTARY	99.62	99.61	PLYMOUTH	MN
Midwest - Top 5 Public Middle Schools
1	MCKINLEY/CLASSICAL JR. ACAD.	99.69	99.94	ST LOUIS	MO
2	VALLEY VIEW MIDDLE	99.05	98.15	EDINA	MN
3	SOUTH VIEW MIDDLE	98.51	96.36	EDINA	MN
4	CHIPPEWA MIDDLE	98.43	95.92	SHOREVIEW	MN
5	WAYZATA WEST MIDDLE	98.43	95.92	WAYZATA	MN
Midwest - Top 5 Public High Schools
1	METRO HIGH	99.95	100	ST LOUIS	MO
2	TOLEDO TECHNOLOGY ACADEMY HIGH SCHOOL	97.09	99.85	TOLEDO	OH
3	OAKWOOD HIGH SCHOOL	96.8	99.58	DAYTON	OH
4	CHAGRIN FALLS HIGH SCHOOL	96.63	99.46	CHAGRIN FALLS	OH
5	COLDWATER HIGH SCHOOL	96.57	99.4	COLDWATER	OH
West - Top 5 Public Elementary Schools
1	WILLIAM FARIA ELEMENTARY	99.74	99.73	CUPERTINO	CA
2	MILLIKIN ELEMENTARY	99.72	99.64	SANTA CLARA	CA
3	MURDOCK-PORTAL ELEMENTARY	99.68	99.52	SAN JOSE	CA
4	LOWELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	99.64	99.78	SEATTLE	WA
5	SLEEPY HOLLOW ELEMENTARY	99.59	99.12	ORINDA	CA
West - Top 5 Public Middle Schools
1	ELKHORN	99.33	98.46	STOCKTON	CA
2	GREENFIELD 7-8	99.31	99.75	FAIRFIELD	MT
3	HOBSON 7-8	99.31	99.75	HOBSON	MT
4	JOAQUIN MILLER MIDDLE	98.88	96.97	SAN JOSE	CA
5	COULEE CITY MS	98.83	97.67	COULEE CITY	WA
West - Top 5 Public High Schools
1	MIDDLE COLLEGE HIGH	99.82	100	STOCKTON	CA
2	CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF MATHEMATICS AND SCIENCE	99.82	100	CARSON	CA
3	MIDDLE COLLEGE HIGH	99.82	100	SAN PABLO	CA
4	UNIVERSITY HIGH	99.82	100	FRESNO	CA
5	LEONARDO DAVINCI HIGH	99.8	99.87	DAVIS	CA

What is Special about Our Data – NeighborhoodScout’s Best Public Schools in America

When any study is conducted to compare and rate schools, the methodology is key. The findings reported here use each school’s own No Child Left Behind test scores, yet standardized by NeighborhoodScout’s exclusive patent-pending methodology for national comparison.

For the first time ever, this exclusive school ratings system allows parents, teachers and others to openly compare the quality of individual schools in different states using the rich data from the NCLB test scores, despite the NCLB tests being state-specific.

The comparisons are made possible by NeighborhoodScout's patent-pending school rating algorithm, which uses each state's student passing rate on the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP), a national test, to normalize the No Child Left Behind test scores at each public school in each state. 

Here is how NeighborhoodScout’s patent-pending school rating system works

License our Data
Location, Inc. offers the most in-depth national coverage of neighborhood data available today.  With 2,723 data elements, hundreds of which are exclusive or proprietary to Location, Inc., these data are perfectly suited for risk assessment, target marketing, real estate investment, insurance underwriting, property valuation models, and more. 

To find out how our data can help your business increase revenues and save time and money, contact Dr. Schiller directly at: info@locationinc.com

About Location, Inc.
Location, Inc. is a research and data mining company born of university research, specializing in location analysis, demographic and school data information products, and location-based decision-making tools for businesses and consumers. The Company licenses data for a host of business to business applications. Location, Inc. is the owner of NeighborhoodScout.com, a national neighborhood data source and search engine which has served 7.8 million home buyers and businesses since its 2002 inception. The Company is based in Rhode Island.

About Dr. Schiller
Dr. Andrew Schiller is the Founder, President and Chairman of Location, Inc. and is responsible for inventing the methods and technology that power NeighborhoodScout.com. He is also responsible for designing studies and reports for various media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Money Magazine, Parade Magazine, Smart Money, The New York Times, and others.

Prior to founding NeighborhoodScout, Andrew received his Ph.D. in Geography from Clark University’s Graduate School of Geography, America’s oldest and largest geography Ph.D. program. Previously he was a scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Atomic Energy Complex. He was also a Director of Science for the Nature Conservancy’s Tennessee Chapter. He has conducted research and published with Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and Stanford University. He is an expert in statistics, demographic and risk analysis, and interpreting the relationships among environmental, social and economic conditions in the United States.