Best School Districts in America 2026, Ranked by Proficiency, OpenSchoolData

Individual school ratings get the most attention, but the district matters just as much. Your child will likely attend 2-3 schools within the same district, so consistent quality across the district is crucial. Here are the 50 best districts based on average proficiency rate across all schools.

Top 50 School Districts by Proficiency Rate

Rank	District	State	Schools	Avg Proficiency	Grad Rate
1	Forsyth County	GA	42	65.5%	86.3%
2	Poway Unified	CA	39	63.9%	81.8%
3	Frisco Isd	TX	74	63.7%	85.0%
4	Irvine Unified	CA	45	62.6%	85.0%
5	Douglas County School District No. Re 1	CO	88	62.4%	76.9%
6	Jordan District	UT	67	61.7%	85.3%
7	Davis District	UT	93	61.4%	85.0%
8	Fremont Unified	CA	43	61.4%	82.8%
9	St. Johns	FL	51	60.9%	82.7%
10	Alpine District	UT	90	60.8%	82.7%
11	Leander Isd	TX	50	60.6%	81.9%
12	Gilbert Unified District (4239)	AZ	38	60.1%	80.5%
13	Joint School District No. 2	ID	60	59.9%	83.3%
14	Weber District	UT	47	59.8%	81.7%
15	Cherokee County	GA	37	58.7%	85.5%
16	Howard County Public Schools	MD	76	58.3%	81.6%
17	Nebo District	UT	49	58.3%	80.6%
18	Loudoun County Public Schools	VA	96	58.0%	83.1%
19	Cherry Creek School District No. 5 in the county of Arapah	CO	70	57.7%	80.7%
20	Frederick County Public Schools	MD	67	57.4%	82.6%
21	Chandler Unified District #80 (4242)	AZ	44	57.4%	84.8%
22	Deer Valley Unified District (4246)	AZ	41	56.5%	80.4%
23	Canyons District	UT	48	56.4%	80.3%
24	Fairfax County Public Schools	VA	199	56.2%	81.3%
25	Washington District	UT	53	55.9%	81.8%
26	Round Rock Isd	TX	59	55.8%	81.2%
27	Beaverton SD 48J	OR	56	55.3%	77.0%
28	Capistrano Unified	CA	59	54.7%	79.5%
29	Seattle School District No. 1	WA	107	54.3%	77.9%
30	Jefferson County School District No. R-1	CO	162	54.2%	78.7%
31	Wake County Schools	NC	197	54.1%	80.7%
32	Plano Isd	TX	74	54.1%	83.1%
33	Lewisville Isd	TX	62	54.0%	79.7%
34	Anchorage School District	AK	95	53.8%	84.9%
35	Keller Isd	TX	41	53.8%	79.1%
36	Union County Public Schools	NC	52	53.4%	77.0%
37	Harford County Public Schools	MD	55	53.4%	81.9%
38	Cobb County	GA	110	52.5%	81.2%
39	Clear Creek Isd	TX	47	52.5%	78.4%
40	Elk Grove Unified	CA	67	52.1%	77.1%
41	Portland SD 1J	OR	86	52.0%	81.3%
42	Lincoln Public Schools	NE	65	52.0%	78.0%
43	Anne Arundel County Public Schools	MD	123	51.9%	80.1%
44	Montgomery County Public Schools	MD	208	51.7%	79.1%
45	Cincinnati Public Schools	OH	65	51.3%	78.2%
46	Peoria Unified School District (4237)	AZ	44	51.2%	79.1%
47	Katy Isd	TX	72	50.9%	75.8%
48	Sarasota	FL	59	50.9%	80.6%
49	Hawaii Department of Education	HI	295	50.8%	77.4%
50	Cabarrus County Schools	NC	44	50.8%	80.0%

What Top Districts Have in Common

Consistent quality across levels, top districts perform well at elementary, middle, and high school, not just one level
Strong proficiency rates, even top districts continue to improve year over year
Teacher retention, districts with lower teacher turnover tend to have higher and more stable proficiency rates
Equitable outcomes, the best districts show smaller gaps between their highest and lowest performing schools

Frequently Asked Questions

Forsyth County in GA ranks #1 with an average proficiency rate of 65.5% across 42 schools.

Districts are ranked by the average proficiency rate of all schools in the district. Only districts with 5 or more schools are included to ensure statistical reliability.

A strong district provides consistency, your child will likely attend multiple schools within the district (elementary, middle, high), so district-level quality matters for long-term outcomes. However, exceptional individual schools exist in otherwise average districts.

Sources: NCES Common Core of Data, EDFacts

Last updated: May 2026

Real federal data: NCES CCD enrollment (2022), EDFacts proficiency rates (2020, district-level), EDFacts graduation rates (2019, district-level).