Wyatt Elementary leaps from No. 72 to No. 18 in U.S. News' new Texas rankings, and Rice Middle moves up to No. 12

Two Plano ISD campuses made big jumps in U.S. News & World Report's 2027 rankings of Texas elementary and middle schools, released early Tuesday.

Wyatt Elementary is No. 18 among Texas elementary schools, up from No. 72 a year ago, and Rice Middle School is No. 12 among the state's middle schools after placing 17th last year, according to CultureMap Dallas, which reviewed the new lists.

A third Plano campus placed even higher. Fowler Middle School, which sits in Plano but belongs to Frisco ISD, came in at No. 8 on the middle school list. Its Frisco ISD sibling Lawler Middle School ranked No. 6.

How the region did

CultureMap counted 20 Dallas-Fort Worth elementary and middle schools near the top of the statewide lists. The highest-ranked was Dallas ISD's Sudie L. Williams Talented and Gifted Academy, No. 2 among elementary schools and No. 4 among middle schools.

Grand Prairie ISD's School for the Highly Gifted debuted at No. 3 overall and as the top charter school in the state after going unranked last year. Frisco ISD's Talley Elementary rose to No. 17 from No. 72, and Frisco ISD's Nelson Middle School slipped one spot to No. 16.

Some North Texas schools that were in the top 10 last year fell. Carroll ISD's George Dawson Middle School dropped from No. 5 to No. 41, and Lovejoy ISD's Willow Springs Middle School went from No. 8 to No. 74, CultureMap reported.

What changed in the method

U.S. News said the 2027 lists add publicly available test data collected straight from state education agencies by RTI International, alongside U.S. Department of Education figures. The rankings look at reading and math results across every proficiency level while still accounting for student background and overall scores on state tests. Student-teacher ratios are used to break ties.

"By incorporating direct state data across all proficiency levels, the 2027 rankings offer a richer, more complete picture" of how schools drive student growth, said Eric Brooks, the publication's director of education data analysis.

To be ranked as a district, U.S. News requires at least three ranked elementary or middle schools, with at least two of them in the top 75% of the state.

Sources

dallas.culturemap.com

prnewswire.com

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