By Polly Lynn Mikula
A ranking of the 2017 Best Public Schools and Districts was recently released by Niche, a website that analyzes date about schools and neighborhoods across the country. Over 80,000 public schools and 10,000 school districts were analyzed to create the nationwide rankings, according to the news release.
“For millions of families, access to great public schools is a major deciding factor in where you will choose to live,” said Luke Skurman, CEO of Niche. “Our 2017 Public Schools rankings make it easier for families to find the right schools for their children in every metro area and state across the country.”
Niche’s annual K-12 public school rankings are based on analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Education and take into account academics, culture and diversity, student-teacher ratio, quality of teachers, quality of the school district, as well as reviews from students and parents. Academic assessment holds the most weight at 50 percent of the school’s total score. It is based on state assessment proficiency and survey responses on academics from students and parents.
The quality of the teachers and district holds the second most weight at 20 percent of the school’s total score. Teachers are evaluated based on teacher salary, teacher absenteeism, state test results, and survey responses on teachers from students and parents. The district is evaluated based on analysis of academic and student life data along reviews from students and parents. Culture and diversity make up the final 10 percent of a school’s score and is based on racial and economic diversity and survey responses.
According to this analysis, the top 10 “Best Public Elementary Schools in Vermont” were ranked as follows:
1. Killington Elementary School, Killington
2. Mt. Holly School, Mount Holly
3. Orchard School, South Burlington
4. Pomfret School, South Pomfret
5. Bingham Memorial School, Cornwall
6. Weybridge Elementary School, Middlebury
7. Wardsboro Central School, Wardsboro
8. Addison Central School, Addison
9. Rick Marcotte Central School, South Burlington
10. Barnard Academy, Barnard
Some of key scores that lead to local schools receiving high scores included:
Killington Elementary earned an overall A+ rating, with an A+ in academics and teachers and a C in diversity. It was ranked No. 1 in Vermont out of 191 public schools. It scored 85 percent proficiency in reading and 75 percent proficiency in math.
Mt. Holly School earned an overall A+ rating, with an A+ in academics and teachers and a C- in diversity. It scored 85 percent proficiency in reading and 65 percent proficiency in math.
Pomfret School earned an overall A+ rating, with an A+ in academics and teachers and a C- in diversity. It scored 85 percent proficiency in reading and 75 percent proficiency in math.
Barnard Academy earned an overall A rating, with an A in academics an A+ for teachers and a C- in diversity. It scored 75 percent proficiency in reading and 65 percent proficiency in math.
For more information visit niche.com/k12/rankings/public-elementary-schools/best-overall/s/vermont.
