Solon Schools Named Best In Nation For 2018: Niche

SOLON, OH — As the 2017-18 school year kicks off, parents and students heading to their first day of school can see how their school district stacks up against others in the state as Niche.com has released its annual rankings of best schools and school districts in the country.

The 2018 rankings released this month rank elementary, middle and high schools as well as school districts.

According to Niche, the best school district in the country is the Solon City School District in Solon, Ohio. With an overall Niche grade of A+, the district received a grade of A+ in academics, teachers, clubs and activities, college prep and health and safety. In the category of diversity, Niche awarded the school district an A-.

To arrive at these rankings, Niche looked at data from the U.S. Department of Education as well as test scores, college data and ratings collected from Niche users. The methodology for each category of ranking varied. (Click here for more information on how Niche calculates its rankings.)

Niche assigns a standardized score for each factor, which is then weighted before an overall score is calculated for each school district. The overall scores are again standardized and some districts are disqualified from receiving a final letter grade if there isn’t enough data. School districts are then ranked numerically and assigned grades.

According to Niche, these are the best school districts in the country:

1. Solon City School District, Solon, Ohio (Overall Niche grade of A+)
2. Tredyffrin-Easttown School District, Wayne, Pennsylvania (Overall Niche grade of A+)
3. Radnor Township School District, Wayne, Pennsylvania (Overall Niche grade of A+)
4. School District of Clayton, Clayton, Missouri (Overall Niche grade of A+)
5. Dublin City School District, Dublin, Ohio (Overall Niche grade of A+)
6. South Texas Independent School District, Mercedes, Texas (Overall Niche grade of A+)
7. Eanes Independent School District, Austin, Texas (Overall Niche grade of A+)
8. Wellesley Public Schools, Wellesley, Massachusetts (Overall Niche grade of A+)
9. Indian Hill Exempted Village School District, Cincinnati, Ohio (Overall Niche grade of A+)
10. Lexington Public Schools, Lexington, Massachusetts (Overall Niche grade of A+)

Niche’s data for its K-12 school district rankings comes from various sources including the U.S. Department of Education, the National Center for Education Statistics and the Civil Rights Data Collection. The rankings also rely on data that is self-reported by Niche users and schools. (Click here to learn more about where Niche’s data comes from.)

Solon also claimed the top spot in the best school district in Ohio category. Only three school systems in Cuyahoga County made the list, Solon, Orange and Beachwood.

1. Solon City School District, Solon, Ohio (Overall Niche grade of A+)
2. Dublin City School District, Dublin, Ohio (Overall Niche grade of A+)
3. Indian Hill Exempted Village School District, Cincinnati, Ohio (Overall Niche grade of A+)
4. Mason City School District, Mason, Ohio (Overall Niche grade of A+)
5. Beachwood City School District, Beachwood, Ohio (Overall Niche grade of A+)
6. Sycamore Community School District, Blue Ash, Ohio (Overall Niche grade of A+)
7. Orange City School District, Pepper Pike, Ohio (Overall Niche grade of A+)
8. New Albany—Plain Local School District, New Albany, Ohio (Overall Niche grade of A+)
9. Centerville City School District, Centerville, Ohio (Overall Niche grade of A+)
10. Olentangy Local School District, Lewis Center, Ohio (Overall Niche grade of A+)

What do you think of the rankings? Let us know in the comments below.

Photo from Solon Schools