Top of the Class: MCPS Stars Are On the Rise
Posted On November 5, 2026
U.S. News & World Report has released its 2027 Best Elementary School rankings and Best Middle School rankings.
MCPS has 12 elementary schools within the top 25 in the state of Maryland; 40 elementary schools within the top 100. Read more.
The elementary schools ranked within the top 25 include:
- #5 Seven Locks Elementary
- #7 Bannockburn Elementary
- #11 Wayside Elementary
- #13 Chevy Chase Elementary
- #15 Bells Mill Elementary
- #17 Lucy V. Barnsley Elementary
- #18 Cedar Grove Elementary
- #19 Carderock Springs Elementary
- #21 Westbrook Elementary
- #22 Wyngate Elementary
- #23 Cold Spring Elementary
- #25 Ritchie Park Elementary
MCPS has five middle schools within the top 25; 15 middle schools within the top 100. The middle schools ranked within the top 25 include:
- #4 Thomas W. Pyle Middle
- #10 Cabin John Middle
- #14 Herbert Hoover Middle
- #20 Takoma Park Middle
- #25 Robert Frost Middle School
Over the summer, U.S. News & World Report ranked the top high schools where Poolesville High School earned second place in the state.
If you missed it last week, MCPS celebrated a major academic milestone, as 2026 Maryland Report Card results show that 134 schools in the district (67%) earned 4- or 5-STAR ratings. This performance marks a dramatic transformation from just three years ago when less than half of MCPS schools held 4- or 5-STAR top-tier ratings. Hear directly from four of our STAR-winning principals about how they improved their ratings.
