U.S. News Ranks New Jersey's Top Elementary Schools

H W Mountz Elementary and Forrestdale School earned top-15 placements among New Jersey elementary schools in the 2027 Best K-8 Schools rankings.

Updated on Nov. 8, 2026 in Primary Education

Red-brick elementary school building with a flagpole and golden maple trees under a clear autumn sky, with an empty playground at the edge. — U.S. News & World Report ranked H W Mountz Elementary School in Spring Lake eighth and Forrestdale School in Rumson twelfth among New Jersey's best K-8 public schools for 2027. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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U.S. News & World Report released its Best K-8 Schools rankings for 2027, placing H W Mountz Elementary School in Spring Lake at No. 8 and Forrestdale School in Rumson at No. 12 among New Jersey elementary schools. The rankings cover public schools nationwide.

Why it matters

The rankings compare public K-8 schools using statewide math and reading assessments, giving New Jersey families a standardized measure of academic performance across the state. Because only public schools are included, the results allow direct comparison among schools that take the same tests.

H W Mountz Elementary School serves 130 students in PK-8, with 87% proficient in math and 92% in reading. Forrestdale School serves 498 students in grades 4-8, with 85% proficient in math and 91% in reading.

The players

U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report is a national publication known for its annual rankings of schools, colleges, hospitals and other institutions.

The details

U.S. News ranked 65,042 of the 80,774 public schools with elementary or middle grades nationally, weighting math proficiency, math performance, reading proficiency, and reading performance at 25% each. In New Jersey, the rankings analyzed 107,223 pre-K, elementary, and middle schools.

• 2027: U.S. News Best K-8 Schools rankings edition released (November 8, 2026)

Seasonal Patterns

The 2027 edition applies the same public-school proficiency methodology used in prior Best K-8 Schools rankings, allowing New Jersey schools to be compared across editions on a consistent basis. Ranking results are drawn from statewide math and reading assessments that participating public schools take each year.

Families researching New Jersey elementary schools can use the proficiency figures to compare H W Mountz and Forrestdale against other public schools in the state. Because the rankings cover only public schools, they do not include private school options.

The takeaway

Parents comparing elementary schools can use statewide proficiency rates alongside school size and grade span to narrow their options. Rankings based on standardized assessments show one measure of academic performance among many factors families consider.