4 Coast middle and elementary schools make top 10 in prestigious state rankings
Four elementary and middle schools across the Mississippi Coast have ranked among the state’s best this year, according to a list released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report.
The rankings by U.S. News, which regularly evaluates schools across the country, examine how many students at each elementary and middle school scored highly in math and reading tests. The rankings also consider each school’s socioeconomic demographics.
The list ranked Bayou View Elementary and Lizana Elementary, both in Gulfport, among the 10 best public elementary schools in Mississippi.
Long Beach Middle School made the list of the state’s top 10 public middle schools.
North Woolmarket Elementary and Middle School ranked among the top 10 on both lists.
The rankings by U.S. News vary each year and have faced debate, especially at the collegiate level, over methodology and whether schools should be ranked at all. But the reports are also a tool high-ranking schools use to tout accomplishments.
U.S. News also recently ranked Ocean Springs High School, Biloxi High School, D’Iberville High School and Long Beach High School on its list of the 10 best-performing public high schools in Mississippi.
2026 elementary and middle school rankings
U.S. News & World Report’s Best Mississippi Elementary Schools
1. Laurel Magnet School of the Arts (Laurel)
2. Bayou View Elementary School (Gulfport)
3. Barack H Obama Elementary School (Jackson)
4. Madison Station Elementary School (Madison)
5. North Woolmarket Elementary and Middle School (Biloxi)
6. Madison Avenue Upper Elementary (Madison)
7. Northshore Elementary (Brandon)
8. Lizana Elementary School (Gulfport)
9. Florence Elementary School (Florence)
10. Mannsdale Upper Elementary (Madison)
U.S. News & World Report’s Best Mississippi Middle Schools
1. Lewisburg Intermediate (Olive Branch)
2. North Woolmarket Elementary and Middle School (Biloxi)
3. West Lincoln School (Brookhaven)
4. West Union Attendance Center (Myrtle)
5. Hernando Middle School (Hernando)
6. Long Beach Middle School (Long Beach)
7. Northwest Middle School (Jackson)
8. Madison Middle School (Madison)
9. Enterprise Middle School (Enterprise)
10. Bailey Middle Apac School (Jackson)