Six Greenwich public elementary schools appear in the 2027 U.S. News & World Report Best K-8 Schools rankings, which evaluated nearly 47,000 elementary schools nationwide.

Parkway School, North Street School, New Lebanon School, Glenville School, Julian Curtiss School and Hamilton Avenue School all made the list, in the order displayed on the U.S. News site. The rankings, published Oct. 20, cover public schools only.

Parkway School is the smallest of the group at 249 students. It carries an 11-to-1 student-teacher ratio.

U.S. News ranks only public K-8 schools because they participate in common statewide assessments that allow comparison across schools. The ranking formula weighs four factors equally at 25% each: math proficiency, math performance, reading proficiency and reading performance.

Half the formula assessed raw test scores. The other half factored in results alongside socioeconomic demographics, according to U.S. News. The rankings draw on publicly available data from state education agencies and the U.S. Department of Education.

Steve Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research and a professor at Rutgers University, said in the U.S. News report that parents often lack good information when evaluating schools.

"What information could they use? Often, they don't have anything but reputation, which doesn't tell you about what the school contributes," Barnett said.

Barnett also said in the report that state assessment data can push schools to improve and may encourage residents to seek seats on local school boards.

The statewide top 10 elementary schools, according to U.S. News:

  1. Riverside School, Riverside
  2. Veterans Park Elementary School, Ridgefield
  3. Bugbee School, West Hartford
  4. Daniels Farm School, Trumbull
  5. West District School, Unionville
  6. East School, New Canaan
  7. South School, New Canaan
  8. North Mianus School, Riverside
  9. Webster Hill School, West Hartford
  10. Michael F. Wallace Middle School, Waterbury

Two Greenwich-area schools landed in the top 10: Riverside School at No. 1 and North Mianus School at No. 8. Both are located in Riverside.

Here are the six Greenwich elementary schools listed, in the order shown on the U.S. News site, with enrollment and student-teacher ratios:

  • Parkway School — 249 students, K-5, 11:1 student-teacher ratio
  • North Street School — 411 students, PK-5, 11:1 ratio
  • New Lebanon School — 375 students, PK-5, 10:1 ratio
  • Glenville School — 411 students, K-5, 10:1 ratio
  • Julian Curtiss School — 236 students, PK-5, 8:1 ratio
  • Hamilton Avenue School — 299 students, PK-5, 8:1 ratio

U.S. News first ranked K-8 schools in October 2021. The 2027 edition covers more than 24,000 middle schools in addition to the elementary rankings.