Newton Elementary School Recognized As One Of The Best In The State

NEWTON, MA — Mason-Rice Elementary School was named one of the best public elementary schools in the state, according to a new ranking Tuesday from U.S. News & World Report.

Mason-Rice came in at number 15 in the rankings. The school comprises approximately 330 students from kindergarten to fifth grade. Its current location on 149 Pleasant St. was built in 1959 after the Mason and Rice schools combined.

U.S. News researchers based the 2026 ranking of the nation’s best public elementary schools on publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education. Elementary schools are considered either pre-K-5 or pre-K-6 in the analysis. For schools that have a wider grade span, only tests through fifth grade were considered.

The top 25 public elementary schools in Massachusetts are:

1. Woodland School in Weston
2. John D. Hardy Elementary School in Wellesley
3. Burbank Elementary in Belmont
4. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School in Cambridge
5. Albert S. Woodward Memorial School in Southborough
6. Winn Brook Elementary School in Belmont
7. Hunnewell Elementary School in Wellesley
8. Paul P Gates Elementary School in Acton, Boxborough
9. Country Elementary School in Weston
10. Maria Hastings Elementary School in Lexington
11. Hopkins Elementary School in Hopkinton
12. Bowman School in Lexington
13. Eliot K-8 Innovation School in Boston
14. Maria L. Baldwin School in Cambridge
15. Mason-Rice Elementary School in Newton
16. William E. Sheehan Elementary School in Westwood
17. Swallow Union Elementary School in Dunstable, Groton
18. Spring Street School in Shrewsbury
19. Kittredge Elementary School in North Andover
20. Alcott Elementary School in Concord
21. Elmwood Elementary School in Hopkinton
22. Plymouth River Elementary School in Hingham
23. Heights Elementary in Sharon
24.Margaret A. Neary Elementary School in Southborough
25. Ralph Wheelock School in Medfield

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 percent of the overall elementary or middle school rankings to qualify for recognition.
Related: These Are The Best School Districts In MA, New Ranking Says

“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.

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