Britt David’s elite ranking leads Columbus area on first U.S. News Best K-8 Schools list
Britt David Magnet Academy of Muscogee County is ranked No. 3 among Georgia’s 1,245 elementary schools on the inaugural U.S. News & World Report list of Best K-8 Schools .
The state’s top two are in DeKalb County: No. 1 Kittredge Magnet School and No. 2 Wadsworth Magnet School.
Known for its annual rankings of colleges and high schools, U.S. News now has expanded to evaluating more than 80,000 public elementary and middle schools across the country.
The Ledger-Enquirer reported in August that Columbus High School was ranked No. 2 Georgia and No. 94 nationally on this year’s U.S. News list. The L-E reported in September the best colleges in Georgia and Alabama, according to this year’s U.S. News list.
Methodology for U.S. News K-8 school rankings
U.S. News gives colleges and high schools national rankings because the methodology includes national metrics. But the magazine ranks the elementary and middle schools as high as only the state level because the methodology doesn’t include national metrics.
“The K-8 rankings are based on state assessments, and each state administers its own exam with different standards of proficiency. Therefore, schools are not comparable across states,” U.S. News & World Report communications and public relations manager Madeline Smanik told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email.
State standardized tests in math and reading during the 2018-19 school years, before the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted in-person classes, are the main criteria for the U.S. News K-8 school rankings.
The magazine analyzed the data for proficiency, as defined the by scores on the state exams, and for performance compared to the predicted scores, based on the school’s demographics.
The formula weights are 50% for the actual test scores and 50% for the comparison to the predicted scores.
Georgia elementary schools
State rankings out of 1,245 Georgia public elementary schools in the Columbus area:
Muscogee County
- 3. Britt David
- 143. Mathews
- 316. Eagle Ridge
- 328. Clubview
- 375. Midland
- 385. Downtown
- 399. Hannan
- 476. North Columbus
- 560. Blanchard
- 673 Johnson
- 706. Gentian
- 744. Wynnton
- 767. Waddell
- 776. Allen
- 824. River Road
- 896. Dimon
- 934-1,245. Double Churches, Reese Road, South Columbus, Key, Wesley Heights, Forrest Road, Dorothy Height, Brewer, Davis, Dawson, Fox, Georgetown, Lonnie Jackson, Martin Luther King Jr., Rigdon Road and St. Marys Road.
U.S. News doesn’t release the rankings for the bottom 25% in each state because it wants to focus on highlighting the top 75%, Smanik told the L-E.
Harris County
- 400. Park
- 443. New Mountain Hill
- 647. Pine Ridge
- 709 Mulberry Creek
- 733. Creekside
Chattahoochee County
- 276. Chattahoochee County Education Center
Georgia middle schools
State rankings out of 551 Georgia public middle schools in the Columbus area:
Muscogee County
- 19. Rainey-McCullers
- 56. Aaron Cohn
- 74. Blackmon Road
- 113. Richards
- 170. Veterans Memorial
- 293. Midland
- 316. Arnold
- 372. Double Churches
- 399. Fort
- 413-551: Baker, East Columbus, Eddy and Rothschild
Harris County
- 199. Harris County Carver Middle School
Chattahoochee County
- 438. Chattahoochee County Middle School
Alabama elementary schools
State rankings out of 665 Alabama public elementary schools in the Columbus area:
Phenix City
- 44. Lakewood
- 72. Sherwood
- 221. Ridgecrest
- 236. Meadowlane
- 281. Westview
- 451. Phenix City
Russell County
- 210. Ladonia
- 288. Mount Olive
- 308. Oliver
- 310. Dixie
Lee County
- 124. Beauregard
- 212. South Smiths Station
- 228. East Smiths Station
- 251. West Smiths Station
- 322. Wacoochee
- 494. Beulah
- 499-665. Loachapoka
Alabama middle schools
State rankings out of 415 Alabama public middle schools in the Columbus area:
Phenix City
- 118. South Girard
- 149. Phenix City
Russell County
- 151. Russell County
Lee County
- 75. Sanford
- 116. Smiths Station
- 192. Beulah
- 233. Loachapoka
