Northwood leads Royal Oak Schools in U.S. News rankings

Northwood Elementary School in Royal Oak ranked No. 165 among 1,499 Michigan elementary schools in the 2027 U.S. News & World Report rankings, the highest elementary placement in Royal Oak Schools.

Northwood scored 89.05 out of 100. Burton Elementary School in Huntington Woods ranked No. 179 with a score of 88.12. Burton was the highest-ranked elementary school in the Berkley School District.

The rankings were released Oct. 20 and use 2023-24 state assessment data.

How the schools compared

At Northwood, 69% of tested students scored at or above the proficient level in both math and reading. Those figures exceeded the Royal Oak Schools elementary-school averages of 47% in math and 58% in reading.

Northwood’s profile lists the K-5 school with 446 students and 25 full-time-equivalent teachers. It reports that all full-time teachers were certified.

Burton posted higher proficiency rates: 73% in both math and reading. The Berkley School District’s elementary-school averages were 56% in math and 61% in reading.

Burton’s profile lists 461 students and 28 full-time-equivalent teachers.

Both schools exceeded the statewide comparison rates of 42% in reading and 38% in math. Both also qualified to display U.S. News Best Elementary Schools award badges, according to their profiles.

Local school leadership

In her general welcome message, Northwood Principal Molly Bascom-Keller emphasizes connections with families and staff.

“One of my highest priorities is to build relationships with our school community,” she writes.

Her message describes her approach to school leadership rather than a response to the rankings.

How the rankings work

U.S. News ranked nearly 47,000 elementary schools for the 2027 edition. Schools receive state and district rankings, rather than a national placement.

Four factors receive equal weight: math proficiency, math performance, reading proficiency and reading performance.

Half the formula uses subject performance indexes that account for results across proficiency levels. The other half compares results with expectations based on students’ socioeconomic backgrounds, according to the U.S. News methodology.