Brookline's public school district ranks third in the Greater Boston area in Niche's 2027 Best School Districts in America list, published Wednesday, Sept. 30.

Only Dover-Sherborn and Needham placed higher among the 25 top-ranked districts in the region, Patch reported. Lexington and Hopkinton rounded out the top five. Neighboring Newton landed at No. 11, and Cambridge at No. 15.

The result is a strong showing for Brookline families.

The district-level ranking is separate from Niche's high school list, which we covered Sept. 29. In that ranking, Brookline High School placed fifth among Massachusetts public high schools, behind the Massachusetts Academy for Math and Science, Weston High School, Boston Latin School and Lexington High School. The district ranking evaluates the entire school system rather than a single building.

Niche graded districts on six categories: academics, teachers, administration, college prep, clubs and activities, and diversity. The analysis drew on federal and state data, school statistics and more than 3 million reviews from students, parents and teachers, according to Niche's ranking page.

Across the state, Niche evaluated thousands of districts as part of a nationwide analysis covering 11,000 school districts, 93,000 public schools and 30,000 private schools.

One notable methodology change this year: Niche dropped SAT and ACT scores from its formula. The company said the move reflects a broader de-emphasis on standardized testing in college admissions. Niche also created separate public and private rankings for categories including arts, diversity, college prep and teachers, and introduced new methodologies for boarding schools and private online high schools.

Niche founder and CEO Luke Skurman said in a news release that the updated rankings give families "more ways to find the right fit, with updates designed to help them find schools where their children will thrive."

Dover-Sherborn earned the top spot in Massachusetts overall with an A+ in academics, teachers, college prep and administration. It received an A- in clubs and activities and a B- in diversity. Brookline's specific letter grades were not available in the published rankings.

Superintendent Bella Wong had not issued a public statement on the district ranking as of publication.