PINEWOOD & RIDGELY

Pinewood Elementary and Ridgley Middle are rated top schools, according to a new ranking from U.S. News & World Report.

U.S. News researchers based the 2025 ranking of the nation’s best public elementary schools on publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education. Elementary schools are considered K-6 in the analysis.

Montgomery County dominated the rankings with six schools in the top 10, including five in Bethesda.

The state's top 10 public elementary schools are:

1. Westbrook Elementary (Bethesda)
2. Ocean City Elementary (Ocean City)
3. Pinewood Elementary (Timonium)
4. Seven Locks Elementary (Bethesda)
5. Benfield Elementary (Severna Park)
6. Cold Spring Elementary (Potomac)
7. Glenarden Woods Elementary (Lanham)
8. Bradley Hills Elementary (Bethesda)
9. Carderock Springs Elementary (Bethesda)
10. Bannockburn Elementary (Bethesda)

The methodology for the rankings focused on state assessments of students who were proficient or above proficient in math and reading/language arts, while also accounting for students’ background and their achievements in core subjects. Student-teacher ratios were applied to break ties.

The rankings are intended as an evaluation tool to inform parents on how well schools are doing at providing high-equality education and providing students for a successful future, LaMont Jones, managing editor for Education at U.S. News, said in a news release.

The top 25 public middle schools in Maryland are:

1. Clarksville Middle (Clarksville)
2. Folly Quarter Middle (Ellicott City)
3. Thomas W. Pyle Middle (Bethesda)
4. Mount View Middle (Marriottsville)
5. Burleigh Manor Middle School (Ellicott City)
6. Cabin John Middle (Potomac)
7. Robert Frost Middle School (Rockville)
8. Urbana Middle (Ijamsville)
9. Stephen Decatur Middle (Berlin)
10. Frederick Classical Charter (Frederick)
11. North Bethesda Middle (Bethesda)
12. Herbert Hoover Middle (Potomac)
13. Chesapeake Science Point (Hanover)
14. Takoma Park Middle (Silver Spring)
15. Severna Park Middle (Severna Park)
16. Glenwood Middle (Glenwood)
17. Lime Kiln Middle (Fulton)
18. Chesapeake Charter School (Lexington Park)
19. Ellicott Mills Middle (Ellicott City)
20. Dora Kennedy French Immersion (Greenbelt)
21. Smithsburg Middle (Smithsburg)
22. Ridgely Middle (Lutherville)
23. Westland Middle (Bethesda)
24. Clear Spring Middle (Clear Spring)
25. Berlin Intermediate (Berlin)

Go here to see the full list of the best Maryland middle schools.

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