Newport Coast Elementary earned the top spot among Newport Beach schools in the 2027 U.S. News & World Report Best Elementary Schools rankings, placing No. 229 out of 5,920 ranked California elementary schools.
The K-6 campus on Ridge Park Road scored 96.13 out of 100. Its students posted 82% reading proficiency and 78% math proficiency on state assessments, according to U.S. News. Both figures topped the Newport-Mesa Unified School District (NMUSD) averages of 59% in reading and 51% in math, and far exceeded statewide rates of 43% and 36%.
Newport Coast Elementary enrolls 429 students and has a 19-to-1 student-teacher ratio, matching the district average. All 22 full-time teachers are certified, and the school employs one full-time counselor.
The ranking comes as NMUSD students continue to outperform state averages on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP). In a district statement on state testing results, Assistant Superintendent of Achievement, Innovation, and Continuous Improvement Socorro Shiels said, "While our students continue to perform well and outperform state averages, we recognize there is more work to do."
Shiels added that the district remains focused on stronger outcomes for every student. Her comments addressed CAASPP results broadly, not the U.S. News rankings specifically.
U.S. News released the rankings Tuesday, Oct. 20. The methodology weighs student proficiency in math and reading equally alongside academic performance relative to socioeconomic factors. Student-teacher ratios break ties. There is no national ranking for elementary schools.
The Orange County Department of Education noted that 29 county campuses earned placements among California's top 100 elementary and middle schools.
Several other NMUSD elementary schools also appeared in the district rankings, including Roy O. Andersen Elementary (353 students), Newport Elementary (339 students) and Harbor View Elementary in Corona del Mar (344 students). Specific statewide rank numbers for those campuses were not available.
California's top 10 elementary schools, as listed by U.S. News:
- Buckeye Union Mandarin Immersion Charter, El Dorado Hills
- Cold Spring Elementary, Santa Barbara
- Murdock-Portal Elementary, San Jose
- William Faria Elementary, Cupertino
- North Star Academy, Redwood City
- Herbert Hoover Elementary, Palo Alto
- Covington Elementary, Los Altos
- Bullis Charter, Los Altos
- Elkhorn, Stockton
- Jack L. Weaver Elementary, Los Alamitos
Jack L. Weaver Elementary, confirmed at No. 10 by the Orange County Department of Education, is the lone Orange County school in the top 10 and sits in the Los Alamitos Unified School District.
