Few aspects play a more important role in a child’s development than their educational experience. But among the nearly 50 million American public school students in grades K-12, the quality of that experience varies considerably.
Key measures – ranging from annual budgets to graduation rates, and everything in between – show that there is no shortage of struggling school districts in the United States. Many public school districts across the country are understaffed, underfunded, and underperforming. (Here is a look at the best private high schools in America.)
Still, there are also school districts that are notable for the opposite reasons. These districts offer students updated facilities, a range of extracurricular activity options, a dedicated teaching staff, and they have a track record of high graduation rates.
According to data compiled by Niche, an education research platform, Adlai E. Stevenson High School District No. 125 in Lincolnshire, Illinois, ranks as the best school district in the state. Niche based its ranking on a weighted index of several measures, including self-reported standardized test scores, parent and student surveys, extracurricular activities, and indicators of teacher quality.
The district enrolls a total of 4,315 students, and has a student-teacher ratio of 15:1. The district has an average graduation rate of 96% and standardized state test results show that about 75% of students are proficient in reading and 76% are proficient in math.
All data in this story came from Niche. A full description of each measure used to calculate this ranking is available here.
StateTop school districtGraduation rate (%)Number of students per teacherTotal enrollmentAlaskaSkagway School DistrictN/A10144AlabamaMadison City Schools971711,804ArkansasHaas Hall Academy95151,407ArizonaCatalina Foothills Unified School District95185,190CaliforniaPalo Alto Unified School District951811,395ColoradoCheyenne Mountain School District No. 1296155,270ConnecticutWestport School District99115,329DelawareAppoquinimink School District951511,914FloridaSt. Johns County School District942244,550GeorgiaBuford City Schools93195,468HawaiiN/AN/AN/AN/AIowaPleasant Valley Community School District97165,331IdahoTroy School District9013270IllinoisAdlai E. Stevenson High School District No. 12596154,315IndianaWest Lafayette Community School Corporation95162,316KansasBlue Valley Unified School District (Overland Park)961422,148KentuckyMurray Independent Schools95181,783LouisianaZachary Community Public Schools94185,444MassachusettsWeston Public Schools95111,906MarylandHoward County Public Schools931457,293MaineYarmouth Schools95121,670MichiganNovi Community School District95186,580MinnesotaWayzata Public School District961712,013MissouriSchool District of Clayton99112,514MississippiPetal School District90164,106MontanaGeraldine Public SchoolsN/A449North CarolinaChapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools911311,926North DakotaEdmore School District No. 2N/A335NebraskaElkhorn Public Schools971510,642New HampshireSAU 7092101,054New JerseyMillburn Township School District99134,697New MexicoLos Alamos Public Schools91163,539NevadaDouglas County School District91165,385New YorkGreat Neck Public Schools96106,831OhioSolon City School District96184,521OklahomaEdmond Public Schools941723,496OregonLake Oswego School District95186,860PennsylvaniaRadnor Township School District97143,624Rhode IslandBarrington Public Schools94153,388South CarolinaFort Mill School District951416,883South DakotaBrandon Valley School District95204,721TennesseeMaryville City Schools95165,441TexasEanes Independent School District99157,968UtahNorthern Utah Academy for Math Engineering & Science (Nuames)95271,135VirginiaFalls Church City Public Schools98162,500VermontSouth Burlington School District91222,688WashingtonMercer Island School District93184,192WisconsinElmbrook School District97157,280West VirginiaMonongalia County Schools911411,113WyomingSheridan County School District No. 286133,519
