New Hampshire's Best Middle Schools Ranked In New Analysis

NEW HAMPSHIRE — The Academy For Science and Design Charter School in Nashua is the best public middle school in the Granite State, according to a new ranking from U.S. News & World Report.

U.S. News researchers based the 2025 ranking of the nation’s best public middle schools on publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education. For the report, the researchers analyzed 59,128 middle schools.

The top 25 public middle schools in New Hampshire are:

1. Academy For Science and Design Charter School in Nashua
2. Frances C. Richmond School in Hanover
3. Mckelvie Intermediate School in Bedford
4. Ross A. Lurgio Middle School in Bedford
5. Rye Junior High School
6. North Hampton School
7. Windham Middle School
8. Hollis-Brookline Middle School
9. Portsmouth Middle School
10. Oyster River Middle School

Click here to see the full list of best New Hampshire middle schools

The methodology for the rankings focused on state assessments of students who were proficient or above proficient in math and reading/language arts, while also accounting for students’ background and their achievements in core subjects. Student-teacher ratios were applied to break ties.

Other middle schools in Patch communities listed include Hampton Academy at 15th, Woodbury School in Salem at 39th, the Exeter Region Cooperative Middle School in Stratham at 41st, the Pennichuck Middle School in Nashua at 42nd, the Amherst Middle School in 48th place, and the Londonderry Middle School in 49th.

LaMont Jones, managing editor for Education at U.S. News, said in a news release that the rankings are intended as an evaluation tool to give parents a snapshot of how well schools provide a high-quality education and prepare students for a successful future.