The Amos A. Lawrence School is Brookline's top-ranked elementary school in the 2027 U.S. News Best K-8 Schools rankings, placing 76th out of 956 Massachusetts elementary schools.
The K-8 school on Francis Street also ranked second among 494 middle schools statewide, according to its U.S. News profile. Lawrence's 630 students posted 76% math proficiency and 71% reading proficiency on state assessments, beating both the Brookline district average (72% math, 68% reading) and the state average (40% math, 38% reading).
The rankings, released Oct. 20, evaluated nearly 47,000 elementary schools and more than 24,000 middle schools nationwide. Schools were ranked at the state and district level only. There is no national ranking.
How other Brookline schools fared
Three other Brookline schools also earned rankings and badge eligibility from U.S. News, according to district data on the U.S. News site. The district contains 12 schools and 7,023 students.
- William H. Lincoln (19 Kennard Rd.): ranked #84 elementary, #3 middle school statewide. Math proficiency: 71%. Reading proficiency: 67%. Enrollment: 494.
- Edith C. Baker (205 Beverly Rd., Chestnut Hill): ranked #127 elementary, #7 middle school statewide. Math proficiency: 72%. Reading proficiency: 69%. Enrollment: 665.
- Florida Ruffin Ridley (345 Harvard St.): ranked #254 elementary, #32 middle school statewide. Math proficiency: 67%. Reading proficiency: 60%. Enrollment: 857.
All proficiency and enrollment figures are based on 2023-2024 state assessment data and 2025 Common Core of Data, according to U.S. News.
How the rankings work
U.S. News weighted four factors equally at 25% each: math proficiency, math performance, reading proficiency and reading performance. Half the formula measured raw test scores. The other half factored in socioeconomic demographics, according to the U.S. News methodology page. Only public schools were included because they participate in common statewide assessments.
Steve Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research and a professor at Rutgers University, said in the U.S. News report that parents often lack good data on school quality. "What information could they use? Often, they don't have anything but reputation, which doesn't tell you about what the school contributes," Barnett said.
Massachusetts top 10 elementary schools
No Brookline school cracked the statewide top 10. Here is the list, according to the U.S. News Massachusetts elementary rankings:
- Martin Luther King Jr. — Cambridge
- Chilmark Elementary — Chilmark
- John D. Hardy — Wellesley
- Woodland — Weston
- Benjamin Banneker Charter Public School — Cambridge
- Country — Weston
- Maria L. Baldwin — Cambridge
- Eliot K-8 Innovation School — Boston
- Paul P. Gates Elementary School — Acton
- Joseph Estabrook — Lexington
Brookline Superintendent Bella Wong and Lawrence Principal Bilello have not made public statements about the rankings as of Oct. 29.
