Riverside School earned the No. 1 spot among Connecticut elementary schools in U.S. News & World Report's 2027 Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings, released Tuesday, Oct. 20.
Two other Greenwich Public Schools also cracked the state's top 10. North Mianus School placed eighth among elementary schools, and Eastern Middle School landed second among middle schools statewide.
The rankings, first reported by Daily Voice, evaluated about 46,000 public elementary schools and more than 24,000 middle schools nationwide. Schools were scored on reading and math achievement on state assessments, with results adjusted for student socioeconomic backgrounds.
Half of each school's score reflects student proficiency in math and reading, according to a U.S. News press release. The other half measures how a school performed compared with expectations based on the percentage of economically disadvantaged students and students from historically underserved groups. Student-teacher ratios break ties.
The 2027 edition marks a methodology shift. U.S. News now uses data collected directly from state education agencies by RTI International, tracking up to five proficiency levels instead of a binary pass/fail measure.
Eric Brooks, U.S. News director of education data analysis, said the change eliminates what he called "performance compression." In a written statement to the Centre Daily Times, Brooks said the new approach captures "nuanced differences between basic proficiency and top achievement."
U.S. News also dropped its previous requirement that a school have at least 30 test-takers to qualify. That change brought more small schools into the pool, Brooks said, shifting ranks across the board even where individual school results stayed the same.
Riverside School, a K-5 neighborhood school where families primarily walk or bike, already carried a Connecticut School of Distinction designation.
North Mianus School draws students from three zip codes: Old Greenwich, Riverside and Cos Cob. The U.S. Department of Education has previously named it a National School of Distinction.
Rankings are state-specific because each state uses different assessments and proficiency standards. Results cannot be compared across state lines.
U.S. News also ranks schools within individual districts, though a district must have at least three ranked elementary or middle schools to qualify. At least two must place in the top 75% of statewide rankings. Full results are available on the U.S. News website.
