Best MA Schools For Grades K-8: U.S. News

MASSACHUSETTS — A new ranking sorts out the best elementary and middle schools in Massachusetts, according to a new list released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report.

For the inaugural list, U.S. News published rankings and data on more than 80,000 public elementary and middle schools across the United States.

Schools are ranked at the state and district levels. The best charter schools and best magnet schools ranked as stand-alone categories.

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The top-ranked elementary school is Martha Jones School in the Westwood Public School District. The top-ranked middle school in Massachusetts is probably one you never heard of. Thomas Prince, a K-8 school, is located in Princeton and part of the Wachusett Regional School District.

Below is a look at the top schools in Massachusetts, according to U.S. News. You can check out the full list here.

Elementary schools

1. Martha Jones, Westwood
2. Horace Mann, Melrose
3. Albert S. Woodward Memorial School, Southborough
4. Spring Street, Shrewsbury
5. Mary Lee Burbank, Belmont
6. Vinson-Owen Elementary, Winchester
7. Chickering, Dover
8. Ambrose Elementary, Winchester
9. Deerfield School, Westwood
10. Benjamin G Brown, Somerville
11. L D Batchelder, North Reading
12. Paul P Gates Elementary School, Acton-Boxborough
13. Eliot Elementary, Boston
14. William L Foster Elementary, Hingham
15. Joseph E Fiske, Wellesley
16. Swallow/Union School, Groton-Dunstable
17. Gov. Edward Winslow, Marshfield
18. Wampatuck Elementary, Scituate
19. Loker School, Wayland
20. James B Congdon, New Bedford
21. Margaret A Neary, Soutborough
22. Roger E Wellington, Belmont
23. Florence Sawyer School, Bolton
24. Maria Hastings, Lexington
25. John D Hardy, Wellesley
26. Josiah Haynes, Sudbury
27. Woodland, Weston
28. Glover, Milton
29. Floral Street School, Shrewsbury
30. East Elementary, Sharon
31. Cushing Elementary, Scituate
32. Linscott-Rumford, Woburn
33. Sprague Elementary School, Wellesley
34. High Plain Elementary, Andover
35. Schofield, Wellesley
36. J F Kennedy Memorial, Franklin
37. Daniel Butler, Belmont
38. South Elementary, Hingham
39. Downey, Westwood
40. Thoreau, Concord

Middle schools

1. Thomas Prince, Princeton
2. Boston Latin, Boston
3. Heath, Chestnut Hill
4. William Diamond Middle, Lexington
5. Edith C Baker, Chestnut Hill
6. Weston Middle, Weston
7. O'Bryant School Math/Science, Roxbury
8. Pollard Middle, Needham
9. Jonas Clarke Middle, Lexington
10. Sarah W Gibbons Middle, Westborough
11. Community Day Charter Public School - Gateway, Lawrence
12. Pierce, Brookline
13. Carlisle School, Carlisle
14. Charles E Brown Middle, Newton Centre
15. McCall Middle, Winchester
16. Winthrop L Chenery Middle, Belmont
17. Hopkinton Middle School, Hopkinton
18. Community Day Charter Public School - R. Kingman Webster, Lawrence
19. Raymond J Grey Junior High, Acton
20. Michael Driscoll, Brookline
21. Hingham Middle School, Hingham
22. Wayland Middle School, Wayland
23. John F Kennedy, Somerville
24. High Rock School, Needham
25. Lynnfield Middle School, Lynnfield
26. Brooke Charter School, Roslindale
27. P. Brent Trottier, Southborough
28. Ashland Middle, Ashland
29. Central Middle, Quincy
30. Stony Brook School, Westford
31. Blanchard Middle, Westford
32. Boston Latin Academy, Dorchester
33. Arthur W Coolidge Middle, Reading
34. Luther Burbank Middle School, Lancaster
35. Lawrence Family Development Charter School, Lawrence
36. Furnace Brook Middle, Marshfield
37. West Tisbury Elementary, West Tisbury
38. Ottoson Middle, Arlington
39. Hale, Stow
40. John D Runkle, Brookline

To determine the rankings, U.S. News used data from the U.S. Department of Education to analyze two areas at each school:

• Math and reading proficiency — or how well students perform on state assessments.
• Math and reading performance — or how well they perform compared with expectations.

The state assessment data used in the rankings is from the 2018-19 school year and, therefore, predates any effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on test-taking.

Nationally, California has 5,534 ranked elementary schools — the most of any state — followed by Texas at 4,446; New York at 2,211; Florida at 2,128; and Illinois at 2,038 schools.

California also has the most ranked middle schools with 2,319, followed by Texas at 1,942; Illinois at 1,243; New York at 1,219; and Florida at 997.

See the complete list of 2021’s Best K-8 Schools