Schools

These Are Banning, Beaumont USD's Top Elementary Schools, U.S. News Says In New Ranking

Take a look at the Riverside County public elementary schools making the grade, and where they rank in the state and district.

Banning and Beaumont Unified School Districts were evaluated in a recent U.S. News & World Report 2026 list
Banning and Beaumont Unified School Districts were evaluated in a recent U.S. News & World Report 2026 list (Photo: Renee Schiavone/ Patch)

BEAUMONT, CA — U.S. News researchers have ranked the nation's best public elementary schools, including schools in Banning and Beaumont, on publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education for 2026. Elementary schools are analyzed as either pre-K-5 or pre-K-6. For schools that have a wider grade span, only tests through fifth grade were considered.

The report includes about 47,000 public elementary schools ranked at the state and district levels based on publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education.

For district-level rankings, at least two of the top-performing schools must rank in the top 75% of the overall elementary or middle school rankings to qualify for recognition.

Find out what's happening in Banning-Beaumontfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

"The 2026 Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings highlight institutions that excel in fostering student achievement and providing exceptional learning environments for all," U.S. News said of the report.

The rankings methodology focuses on state assessments of students who were proficient or above proficient in mathematics and reading/language arts, while accounting for student background and achievement in core subjects. Student-teacher ratios are applied to break ties in the overall score.

Find out what's happening in Banning-Beaumontfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

The top 2 public elementary schools in the Banning Unified School District, as ranked by U.S. News and World Report for 2026, include:

  1. Cabazon Elementary, #3762 in CA.
  2. Central Elementary, #3898 in CA.

The top 5 public elementary schools in the Beaumont Unified School District, as ranked by U.S. News and World Report for 2026, include:

  1. Sundance Elementary, #1563 in CA.
  2. Brookside Elementary, #1871 in CA.
  3. Starlight Elementary, #2244 in CA.
  4. Summerwind Trails, #2271 in CA.
  5. Tournament Hills Elementary, #2749 in CA.

The top 25 public elementary schools in California are:

  • Murdock-Portal Elementary, San Jose (No. 1-tie)
  • William Faria Elementary, Cupertino (No. 1-tie)
  • Millikin Elementary, Santa Clara (No. 3)
  • North Star Academy, Redwood City (No. 4)
  • Argonaut Elementary, Saratoga (No. 5)
  • Herbert Hoover Elementary, Palo Alto (No. 6)
  • Balboa Gifted/High Ability Magnet Elementary, Northridge (No. 7)
  • Bullis Charter, Los Altos (No. 8)
  • Ocean Air, San Diego (No. 9)
  • Solana Ranch Elementary, San Diego (No. 10)
  • Springer Elementary, Mountain View (No. 11)
  • Jack L. Weaver Elementary, Los Alamitos (No. 12)
  • Yu Ming Charter, Oakland (No. 13)
  • Cold Spring Elementary, Santa Barbara (No. 14)
  • Beach Elementary, Piedmont (No. 15)
  • Overland Avenue Elementary, Los Angeles (No. 16)
  • Sage Canyon, San Diego (No. 17)
  • La Jolla Elementary, La Jolla (No. 18)
  • Cottonwood Creek, Dublin (No. 19)
  • Wonderland Avenue Elementary, Los Angeles (No. 20)
  • Oak Avenue Elementary, Los Altos (No. 21)
  • Central Elementary, Belmont (No. 22)
  • Meadows Avenue Elementary, Manhattan Beach (No. 23)
  • Scripps Elementary, San Diego (No. 24)
  • Wagner Ranch Elementary, Orinda (No. 25)

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