Connecticut's Top 100 Academic School Districts for 2016

The Westport School District is Connecticut’s most academically rigorous, according to a new list for 2016 from ratings and review site Niche.com.

The website looked at “state test scores, college readiness, SAT/ACT scores, graduation rate, student-teacher ratio, AP enrollment, and student and parent reviews” to compile its ranking of the 100 top districts in the state, for which Westport received virtually an entire slate of A-pluses.

Wrote a parent from Westport’s Coleytown Elementary School in their review of the academics, “The teachers are passionate about their jobs shaping young minds. The work is more than other schools but the kids are capable and rise to the challenge. If my child balks about doing her homework, I’ll tell her ’no problem, you can explain to the teacher you didn’t feel like doing homework.’ She would NEVER want to disappoint her teacher because she respects him so much, so it gets done.”

The Wilton School District was ranked second in the state, followed by third place New Canaan, fourth place Ridgefield and fifth place Darien.

Weston, Simsbury, Greenwich, Amity Regional No. 5 and Madison round out Connecticut’s top 10.

Nationally, the top five districts academically are Highland Park Independent School District (Dallas); followed by second and third-ranked Millburn Township Schools and Princeton Public Schools, both in New Jersey; fourth-ranked Eanes Independent School District in Texas; and fifth-ranked New Trier Township High School District No. 203 in Illinois.

Westport and Wilton were numbers 14 and 15 nationally, according to Niche.com, followed by New Canaan (#18), Ridgefield (#23) and Darien (#26).

For the complete list for Connecticut from 1 to 100 see below (Click on the hyperlink to read detailed information about each district, and how Niche.com arrived at its ranking.)

1. Westport School District
2. Wilton School District
3. New Canaan School District
4. Ridgefield School District
5. Darien School District
6. Weston School District
7. Simsbury School District
8. Greenwich School District
9. Amity Regional School District No. 5
10. Madison School District
11. Avon School District
12. Glastonbury School District
13. Farmington School District
14. Guilford Public Schools
15. West Hartford School District
16. Regional School District No. 18
17. Cheshire Public Schools
18. Fairfield School District
19. East Lyme School District
20. Pomperaug Regional School District No. 15
21. Brookfield School District
22. Litchfield Public Schools
23. Canton School District
24. Newtown School District
25. Old Saybrook School District
26. New Fairfield School District
27. Regional School District No. 4
28. Monroe School District
29. Branford School District
30. South Windsor School District
31. Regional School District No. 8
32. Granby School District
33. Trumbull Public Schools
34. Rocky Hill School District
35. Bolton School District
36. Tolland School District
37. Regional School District No. 17
38. East Granby School District
39. Stonington School District
40. Southington School District
41. Bethel School District
42. Cromwell School District
43. Waterford School District
44. Suffield School District
45. Regional School District No. 10
46. Ellington School District
47. Regional School District No. 13
48. Regional School District No. 14
49. Westbrook School District
50. Colchester School District
51. Somers School District
52. Oxford School District
53. Groton School District
54. North Stonington School District
55. Northwestern Regional School District No. 7
56. Regional School District No. 6
57. East Hampton School District
58. Plainville School District
59. Wethersfield School District
60. Stamford School District
61. North Branford School District
62. Milford School District
63. Shelton School District
64. Coventry School District
65. Berlin School District
66. Wallingford School District
67. Wolcott School District
68. North Haven School District
69. New Milford School District
70. Ledyard School District
71. Newington School District
72. Lebanon School District
73. East Haddam School District
74. Stafford School District
75. Plymouth School District
76. Regional School District No. 16
77. Hamden School District
78. Middletown School District
79. Clinton School District
80. Norwalk School District
81. Windsor School District
82. Watertown School District
83. Portland School District
84. Torrington School District
85. Danbury School District
86. Thomaston School District
87. Montville School District
88. Seymour School District
89. Windsor Locks School District
90. Griswold School District
91. Bristol School District
92. Killingly School District
93. Stratford School District
94. Plainfield School District
95. Vernon School District
96. Thompson School District
97. Bloomfield School District
98. Enfield School District
99. Putnam School District

100. Naugatuck School District

Click here to view the full national ranking from Niche.com.