9 Arlington Schools Among Best For Grades K-8: U.S. News

ARLINGTON, MA — Several elementary and middle schools in Arlington have been ranked among the best in Massachusetts, according to a brand-new ranking 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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Here's a look at how schools in Arlington ranked compared with others in the state:

Elementary Schools (out of 964):

• Thompson (123)
• M Norcross Stratton (246)
• Brackett (250)
• John A Bishop (272)
• Cyrus E Dallin (274)
• Hardy (382)
• Peirce (495)

Middle Schools (out of 491)

• Gibbs School (69)
• Ottoson Middle (38)

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.

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

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.