These Are The 25 Best Elementary Schools in VA: U.S. News

The Old Donation School is the best public elementary school in Virginia, according to a new ranking Tuesday from U.S. News & World Report.

U.S. News researchers based the 2027 ranking of the nation’s best public elementary schools on the latest publicly available data from state education agencies by RTI International, alongside data from the U.S. Department of Education. In the past, the state reports weren’t part of the methodology.

The data from the state agencies provides a more comprehensive assessment of student performance in reading and mathematics across all proficiency levels while continuing to account for student background and absolute performance on state assessments.

“By incorporating direct state data across all proficiency levels, the 2027 rankings offer a richer, more complete picture of how elementary and middle schools are driving student growth,” Eric Brooks, U.S. News director of education data analysis, said in a news release.

Elementary schools are those offering either pre-K-5 or pre-K-6 education. For schools that have a wider grade span, only tests through fifth grade were considered. The report includes 46,000 public elementary schools ranked at the state and district levels. Charter schools are a stand-alone category.

The top 25 public elementary schools in Virginia are:

1. Old Donation School, Virginia Beach

2. Haycock Elementary School, Falls Church

3. Virginia L. Murray Elementary School, Charlottesville

4. Sangster Elementary School, Springfield

5. Churchill Road Elementary School, McLean

6. Jamestown Elementary School, Arlington

7. Colvin Run Elementary School, Vienna

8. Arlington Traditional School, Arlington

9. Tuckahoe Elementary School, Arlington

10. Keene Mill Elementary School, Springfield

11. Mary G. Porter Traditional, Woodbridge

12. Watauga Elementary School, Abingdon

13. Kent Gardens Elementary School, McLean

14. Navy Elementary School, Fairfax

15. Tabb Elementary School, Yorktown

16. Harrington Waddell Elementary School, Lexington

17. Glebe Elementary School, Arlington

18. Cardinal Elementary School, Arlington

19. St. Paul Elementary School, St. Paul

20. Spring Hill Elementary School, McLean

21. Mary Munford Elementary School, Richmond

22. Wolftrap Elementary School, Vienna

23. Thomas C. McSwain Elementary School, Staunton

24. Nottingham Elementary School, Arlington

25. Greendale Elementary, Abingdon