Two Summit-area elementary schools rank among the 25 best public elementary schools in New Jersey, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2027 rankings released Oct. 20.
Salt Brook School in New Providence placed No. 15 statewide, and Franklin Elementary School in Summit placed No. 19, MyCentralJersey reported. School 28 in Paterson took the No. 1 spot.
The rankings evaluated more than 46,700 public elementary schools nationally. U.S. News used data collected from state education agencies by RTI International, along with data from the U.S. Department of Education, to score schools on a 0-to-100 scale within each state.
Half of each school's score reflects student proficiency in math and reading. The other half measures how a school performs compared with expectations based on students' socioeconomic backgrounds, according to MyCentralJersey. Because states use different assessments and proficiency standards, results are not comparable across state lines.
"By incorporating direct state data across all proficiency levels, the 2027 rankings offer a richer, more complete picture of how elementary and middle schools are driving student growth," Eric Brooks, U.S. News director of education data analysis, said in a news release reported by Patch.
This year's methodology added state-level reports that were not part of prior rankings, according to Patch.
Summit and New Providence schools swept the top five spots in Union County's elementary rankings. Salt Brook led the county at No. 15, followed by Franklin Elementary at No. 19, Washington Elementary School in Summit at No. 29 and Allen W. Roberts School in New Providence at No. 33. Lincoln-Hubbard Elementary School in Summit rounded out the top five at No. 34.
Brayton Elementary School in Summit also appeared in the county's top 10 at No. 50, and Jefferson Elementary School in Summit ranked No. 90.
On the middle school side, Lawton C. Johnson Summit Middle School ranked No. 49 in the state and New Providence Middle School ranked No. 67.
