ACHIEVEMENT

The 150 US public schools that most beat their demographics

Name: The 150 US public schools that most beat their demographics
Creator: allk12
Published: 2026-05-25T03:18:13.587Z
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Keywords: achievement, public schools, K-12, NCES

A demographically-adjusted school ranking: where do schools outperform what their FRL share would predict?

May 25, 2026

KEY FINDING

Most school rankings sort by raw test scores, which favors wealthy schools. BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free-and-reduced-lunch share, then ranks schools by how much they beat the prediction. The top 150 nationally are listed here. Every allk12 school page with enough data carries the score.

Outperforming schools

6,361

top 10% within their state

As expected

50,715

Underperforming

6,361

bottom 10% within their state

Method

FRL-adjusted

per-state regression

TOP 150 US PUBLIC SCHOOLS BEATING DEMOGRAPHIC EXPECTATIONS

School	State	City	% FRL	% Proficient	Expected	Beats (pp) ↓
Eisenhower Academy	Illinois	Joliet	100%	85.8%	13.8%	72.05
Elite Scholars Academy School	Georgia	Jonesboro	100%	94.7%	25.7%	69
School 28	New Jersey	PATERSON	73.2%	89.9%	26.1%	63.82
TRINIDAD GARZA EARLY COLLEGE AT MT VIEW	Texas	DALLAS	94.7%	91.0%	32.5%	58.48
Masterman Julia R Sec Sch	Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	101%	91.5%	34.1%	57.33
Richardson PREP HI Middle	California	San Bernardino	88.0%	84.1%	27.1%	57
Infinity Institute	New Jersey	Jersey City	53.2%	93.5%	37.0%	56.5
HECTOR J GARCIA EARLY COLLEGE H S	Texas	LAREDO	89.8%	91.1%	34.7%	56.46
FLORENCE J SCOTT EL	Texas	ROMA	92.5%	89.4%	33.5%	55.93
DEBORAH BROWN CHARTER ES	Oklahoma	Tulsa	84.6%	82.5%	26.6%	55.91
ALIEF EARLY COLLEGE H S	Texas	HOUSTON	84.6%	92.6%	37.0%	55.68
PSJA COLLEGIATE SCHOOL OF HEALTH PROFESSIONS	Texas	SAN JUAN	98.8%	85.6%	30.7%	54.9
FARIAS EL	Texas	LAREDO	100%	85.1%	30.2%	54.88
EMMA VERA EL	Texas	ROMA	82.3%	92.6%	37.9%	54.67
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL-BRONX 5 UPPER	New York	BRONX	92.1%	95.5%	41.1%	54.37
SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING	Texas	DALLAS	65.3%	99.6%	45.3%	54.23
DELIA GONZALEZ GARCIA EL	Texas	RIO GRANDE CITY	92.2%	87.7%	33.6%	54.08
Dr. Richard A. Vladovic Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy	California	Wilmington	65.5%	94.3%	40.5%	53.77
Chin (John Yehall) Elementary	California	San Francisco	75.5%	88.1%	34.5%	53.57
SOUTH BRONX CLASSICAL CHARTER SCHOOL III	New York	BRONX	97.3%	92.7%	39.2%	53.49
Penn Alexander Sch	Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	98.2%	88.8%	35.5%	53.33
PS/MS 4 CROTONA PARK WEST	New York	BRONX	98.2%	91.9%	38.9%	53.02
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL-HARLEM 2	New York	NEW YORK	88.3%	94.8%	42.5%	52.24
JUDGE BAREFOOT SANDERS LAW MAGNET	Texas	DALLAS	78.9%	91.3%	39.4%	51.84
SCHOOL FOR THE TALENTED & GIFTED IN PLEASANT GROVE	Texas	DALLAS	92.7%	85.1%	33.4%	51.73
KERR H S	Texas	HOUSTON	68.8%	95.4%	43.9%	51.53
Robert A. Cross Middle Magnet	Georgia	Albany	96.0%	79.2%	27.7%	51.46
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL-BUSHWICK	New York	BROOKLYN	77.8%	97.8%	46.4%	51.36
BROWNSVILLE EARLY COLLEGE H S	Texas	BROWNSVILLE	94.2%	83.9%	32.8%	51.13
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL - BRONX 4	New York	BRONX	83.2%	95.5%	44.4%	51.11
LEADERS OF EXCELLENCE ADVOCACY AND DISCOVERY	New York	BRONX	81.8%	95.8%	44.9%	50.93
SCHOOL OF HEALTH PROFESSIONS	Texas	DALLAS	83.7%	88.1%	37.3%	50.8
SOUTH BRONX CLASSICAL CHARTER SCHOOL IV	New York	BRONX	91.2%	91.9%	41.5%	50.48
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS SECONDARY SCHOOL-BRONX COMMUNITY COLLEGE	New York	BRONX	88.3%	93.0%	42.5%	50.46
EDINBURG COLLEGIATE H S	Texas	EDINBURG	68.7%	94.1%	43.9%	50.24
The Gray Charter School	New Jersey	NEWARK	72.9%	76.4%	26.3%	50.15
MARVIN E ROBINSON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MGMT	Texas	DALLAS	84.2%	87.3%	37.1%	50.15
CHALLENGE EARLY COLLEGE H S	Texas	HOUSTON	81.4%	88.3%	38.3%	49.93
Wadsworth Magnet School for High Achievers	Georgia	Decatur	61.2%	95.5%	45.7%	49.81
Central HS	Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	98.2%	85.3%	35.5%	49.78
SOUTH BRONX CLASSICAL CHARTER SCHOOL II	New York	BRONX	91.5%	90.7%	41.3%	49.4
Jefferson Elementary School	Indiana	Goshen	55.5%	85.6%	36.3%	49.32
ROEL A & CELIA R SAENZ EL	Texas	ROMA	93.2%	82.5%	33.2%	49.29
Science Park High School	New Jersey	NEWARK	68.0%	78.2%	28.9%	49.25
Willowbrook Middle	California	Compton	88.8%	75.7%	26.6%	49.15
ICAHN CHARTER SCHOOL 4	New York	BRONX	74.5%	96.6%	47.6%	49.04
THELMA ROSA SALINAS STEM EARLY COLLEGE H S	Texas	LA JOYA	93.8%	81.8%	32.9%	48.84
North Star Central El Sch	Pennsylvania	Boswell	103%	82.0%	33.3%	48.76
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL-BRONX 2	New York	BRONX	89.3%	90.8%	42.2%	48.61
SOUTH BRONX CLASSICAL CHARTER SCHOOL	New York	BRONX	87.4%	91.3%	42.9%	48.48
BRONX CHARTER SCHOOL FOR EXCELLENCE	New York	BRONX	91.1%	89.8%	41.5%	48.29
NORTH LAKE EARLY COLLEGE H S	Texas	IRVING	87.6%	83.9%	35.6%	48.26
Aurora Quest K-8	Colorado	AURORA	42.8%	88.7%	40.8%	47.89
Jose Marti STEM Academy	New Jersey	UNION CITY	74.4%	73.2%	25.4%	47.78
QUEENS HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE SCIENCES AT YORK COLLEGE	New York	JAMAICA	66.7%	98.2%	50.5%	47.69
NORTH HOUSTON EARLY COLLEGE H S	Texas	HOUSTON	87.9%	83.1%	35.5%	47.64
Meredith William M Sch	Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	92.6%	85.5%	37.9%	47.62
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL-CROWN HEIGHTS	New York	BROOKLYN	79.4%	93.4%	45.8%	47.59
JIMMY CARTER EARLY COLLEGE H S	Texas	LA JOYA	85.9%	83.9%	36.4%	47.52
Robert Shaw Theme School	Georgia	Scottdale	100%	73.0%	25.7%	47.35
IRMA RANGEL YOUNG WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP SCHOOL	Texas	DALLAS	79.8%	86.3%	39.0%	47.29
BROWNSVILLE COLLEGIATE CHARTER SCHOOL	New York	BROOKLYN	87.1%	90.0%	43.0%	47.05
BRONX CHARTER SCHOOL FOR EXCELLENCE 2	New York	BRONX	87.9%	89.7%	42.7%	46.99
ICAHN CHARTER SCHOOL 1	New York	BRONX	89.1%	89.1%	42.2%	46.87
Pierce County High School	Georgia	Blackshear	78.0%	83.9%	37.1%	46.84
Dekalb Early College Academy	Georgia	Stone Mountain	84.4%	80.6%	33.7%	46.84
Thurgood Marshall Elementary	Illinois	Rockford	35.3%	97.8%	51.1%	46.69
Iroquois West Elem School/Gilman	Illinois	Gilman	60.4%	83.3%	36.6%	46.68
BROOKLYN TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL	New York	BROOKLYN	58.7%	100%	53.4%	46.59
MIDDLE COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL AT LAGUARDIA COMMUNITY COLLEGE	New York	LONG ISLAND CITY	78.9%	92.5%	46.0%	46.51
Terence C. Reilly School No 7	New Jersey	ELIZABETH	78.5%	69.5%	23.2%	46.32
BEACON HIGH SCHOOL	New York	NEW YORK	61.4%	98.5%	52.4%	46.1
HARLEM VILLAGE ACADEMY WEST CHARTER SCHOOL	New York	NEW YORK	89.0%	88.3%	42.3%	46.09
Greenfield Albert M Sch	Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	98.4%	81.4%	35.4%	46.01
STEM Innovation Academy of the Oranges	New Jersey	South Orange	71.1%	73.1%	27.2%	45.82
HIGH SCHOOL FOR DUAL LANGUAGE AND ASIAN STUDIES	New York	NEW YORK	78.3%	92.0%	46.2%	45.79
STATEN ISLAND TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL	New York	STATEN ISLAND	56.5%	100%	54.2%	45.78
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL - NORWOOD	New York	BRONX	87.7%	88.5%	42.8%	45.75
Hoover Street Elementary	California	Los Angeles	98.0%	66.8%	21.1%	45.73
Michelle Obama Elementary School	New Jersey	Newark	85.4%	65.2%	19.4%	45.71
TYLER ISD EARLY COLLEGE H S	Texas	TYLER	73.6%	87.4%	41.7%	45.64
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL-PROSPECT HEIGHTS	New York	BROOKLYN	76.8%	92.3%	46.7%	45.51
BROOKLYN LATIN SCHOOL (THE)	New York	BROOKLYN	56.7%	99.6%	54.1%	45.47
Passaic Gifted and Talented Academy School No. 20	New Jersey	Passaic	100%	56.8%	11.4%	45.41
BROOKFIELD ELEM.	Missouri	BROOKFIELD	49.2%	95.5%	50.4%	45.15
REED ELEMENTARY	Missouri	ST LOUIS	8.3%	96.3%	51.1%	45.14
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL-SOUTH JAMAICA	New York	JAMAICA	72.0%	93.6%	48.5%	45.11
Dewitt Elementary School	Kentucky	Flat Lick	88.3%	77.3%	32.3%	45.02
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL-HARLEM 3	New York	NEW YORK	83.3%	89.3%	44.4%	44.95
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL-HELL'S KITCHEN	New York	NEW YORK	65.1%	96.0%	51.1%	44.94
Keller Elem Gifted Magnet School	Illinois	Chicago	38.7%	93.9%	49.1%	44.75
Oxford Academy	California	Cypress	50.0%	94.4%	49.7%	44.66
Passaic Academy for Science and Engineering	New Jersey	Passaic	100%	56.1%	11.4%	44.64
Sixth Street Prep	California	Victorville	74.2%	79.8%	35.3%	44.58
SOMERSET ACADEMY MIRAMAR SOUTH	Florida	MIRAMAR	53.0%	99.0%	54.6%	44.43
Science Leadership Academy	Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	99.6%	79.3%	34.9%	44.4
William F. Halloran School No.22	New Jersey	ELIZABETH	78.1%	67.8%	23.4%	44.37
Colonel Joseph C. Rodriguez PREP Academy	California	San Bernardino	89.2%	70.5%	26.3%	44.2
ROSIE SORRELLS EDUCATION AND SOCIAL SERVICES H S	Texas	DALLAS	79.2%	83.5%	39.3%	44.19
Roosevelt Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (ST	New Jersey	PENNSAUKEN	46.7%	84.7%	40.6%	44.16
SHIRLEEN ZACHARIAS EARLY CLGE LEADERSHIP ACADEMY	Texas	SOMERSET	78.9%	83.6%	39.4%	44.14
Academy at Palumbo	Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	97.0%	80.2%	36.0%	44.12
Gehring Roger D Acad of Science & Technology ES	Nevada	Las Vegas	100%	76.6%	32.5%	44.1
EL PUENTE ACADEMY FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE	New York	BROOKLYN	89.9%	86.0%	41.9%	44.09
LIFT FOR LIFE ACADEMY HIGH SCH	Missouri	ST LOUIS	100%	93.4%	49.4%	43.96
HENRY W LONGFELLOW CAREER EXPLORATION ACADEMY	Texas	DALLAS	78.0%	83.8%	39.8%	43.91
Glenarden Woods Elementary	Maryland	Lanham	47.3%	90.1%	46.2%	43.89
Middle College High	California	Los Angeles	88.6%	70.5%	26.7%	43.84
PSJA THOMAS JEFFERSON T-STEM EARLY COLLEGE H S	Texas	PHARR	95.5%	76.0%	32.2%	43.81
STUYVESANT HIGH SCHOOL	New York	NEW YORK	50.8%	100%	56.3%	43.68
ARLINGTON COLLEGE AND CAREER H S	Texas	ARLINGTON	78.2%	83.4%	39.7%	43.66
CHRISTA MCAULIFFE SCHOOL (THE) /IS 187	New York	BROOKLYN	76.1%	90.6%	47.0%	43.57
ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP CHARTER SCHOOL	New York	BRONX	95.3%	83.5%	39.9%	43.54
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL-HARLEM 5	New York	NEW YORK	81.9%	88.4%	44.9%	43.47
SCHOOL FOR THE TALENTED AND GIFTED	Texas	DALLAS	39.6%	100%	56.6%	43.44
LEYENDECKER EL	Texas	LAREDO	100%	73.6%	30.2%	43.38
KATHLYN JOY GILLIAM COLLEGIATE ACADEMY	Texas	DALLAS	81.3%	81.8%	38.4%	43.36
BRONX HIGH SCHOOL OF SCIENCE (THE)	New York	BRONX	50.4%	99.8%	56.5%	43.33
TCCSE EARLY COLLEGE H S AT TIMBERVIEW	Texas	ARLINGTON	49.8%	95.3%	52.1%	43.13
EAST EARLY COLLEGE H S	Texas	HOUSTON	78.2%	82.9%	39.8%	43.13
DR WRIGHT L LASSITER JR EARLY COLLEGE H S	Texas	DALLAS	86.7%	79.1%	36.0%	43.1
Whitley County East Elementary School	Kentucky	Williamsburg	84.3%	76.6%	33.8%	42.84
Duff Language Magnet Academy	California	Rosemead	81.4%	73.7%	31.0%	42.76
Haines Elem School	Illinois	Chicago	78.5%	68.9%	26.2%	42.76
VICTORY EARLY COLLEGE H S	Texas	HOUSTON	80.3%	81.5%	38.8%	42.69
MATER PERFORMING ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ACADEMY	Florida	HIALEAH GARDENS	78.4%	84.5%	41.9%	42.67
PATTONVILLE SR. HIGH	Missouri	MARYLAND HEIGHTS	42.9%	93.1%	50.5%	42.66
Dr Ronald McNair High School	New Jersey	JERSEY CITY	35.2%	89.5%	46.9%	42.64
Sara M. Gilmore Academy	New Jersey	Union City	54.8%	78.8%	36.2%	42.61
PINECREST ACADEMY (NORTH CAMPUS)	Florida	MIAMI	65.4%	91.0%	48.4%	42.6
VALLEY PARK SR. HIGH	Missouri	VALLEY PARK	36.1%	93.1%	50.6%	42.54
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL - BENSONHURST	New York	BROOKLYN	64.9%	93.6%	51.1%	42.51
Burning Springs Elementary	Kentucky	Manchester	80.1%	77.7%	35.3%	42.42
ZETA CHARTER SCHOOL -SOUTH BRONX	New York	BRONX	89.5%	84.5%	42.1%	42.42
SPRING EARLY COLLEGE ACADEMY	Texas	HOUSTON	65.0%	87.9%	45.5%	42.37
Young Magnet High School	Illinois	Chicago	33.3%	94.6%	52.3%	42.34
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL-BED STUY 2	New York	BROOKLYN	80.4%	87.8%	45.4%	42.34
Hillside Elementary	California	San Bernardino	90.3%	68.0%	25.7%	42.33
McCall Gen George A Sch	Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	98.1%	77.9%	35.5%	42.32
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL-BED STUY 3	New York	BROOKLYN	74.3%	90.0%	47.7%	42.3
Pender Early College High	North Carolina	Burgaw	98.6%	91.0%	48.7%	42.27
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL - BED STUY 1	New York	BROOKLYN	68.8%	92.0%	49.7%	42.26
HUDSON EL	Texas	LONGVIEW	52.7%	93.1%	50.9%	42.22
ZETA CHARTER SCHOOL - BRONX TREMONT PARK	New York	BRONX	84.6%	86.1%	43.9%	42.2
ZETA CHARTER SCHOOL - INWOOD	New York	NEW YORK	80.9%	87.4%	45.2%	42.18
SUCCESS ACADEMY CHARTER SCHOOL-BRONX 1	New York	BRONX	85.8%	85.5%	43.5%	42.08
W. A. Kendrick Elementary	California	Bakersfield	92.8%	66.2%	24.2%	42.03
Healy Elem School	Illinois	Chicago	79.2%	67.7%	25.8%	41.92
ACHIEVE EARLY COLLEGE H S	Texas	MCALLEN	68.2%	86.0%	44.1%	41.91
Brunswick County Early College	North Carolina	Bolivia	99.1%	90.5%	48.6%	41.89

150 of 150 rows · Each school is compared against the per-state regression of proficiency on FRL share. "Beats" is the residual in percentage points: how many points above demographically-predicted proficiency.↓ Download schools-beating-expectations.csv

The problem with raw test-score rankings

Most public school rankings sort by raw proficiency. That math favors wealthy suburbs over high-poverty schools, regardless of how well either is doing relative to its peers. A school where 70% of students hit proficiency looks great. A school where 40% hit proficiency looks bad. The first might be coasting on a wealthy student body. The second might be one of the most effective schools in its state.

The fix is to control for who the school serves before ranking it. That's what BeatsExpectations does.

How we calculate it

For each US state with sufficient data, we run a per-state regression of average school proficiency on free-and-reduced-lunch share. The regression gives us a predicted proficiency for every school based on its FRL profile alone. The difference between actual and predicted is the school's BeatsExpectations score, in percentage points.

OUTPERFORMING: top 10% within the state by BeatsExpectations score
AS EXPECTED: middle 80%
UNDERPERFORMING: bottom 10% within the state by BeatsExpectations score

Tier thresholds are state-specific because each state uses its own assessment with different rigor and cut-scores. A residual of +12 in California is not the same as a residual of +12 in Massachusetts.

What this rewards

Schools that show up as OUTPERFORMING tend to share characteristics that the research on effective high-poverty schools has identified repeatedly: long principal tenure, structured K-3 literacy instruction, extended instructional time, stable teacher staffing, and a clear curriculum. We track that subset in our separate beating-the-odds analysis.

The table above shows the top 150 outperformers nationally, ranked by raw BeatsExpectations score. The full per-school score is available on every school page on allk12.com that has enough assessment data to compute it.

Limits

The score uses FRL share as the only demographic control. ELL share, special-education share, and the racial composition of the student body also predict outcomes; future versions of the score will incorporate them as state-level reporting catches up.

The per-state regression also assumes that the FRL-to-proficiency relationship is linear within each state. That's a simplification. In states with strongly bimodal FRL distributions (lots of very low and very high FRL schools, few middle), the residuals at the extremes can be noisier than the rest.

BeatsExpectations is a relative measure within a state. A school in the top 10% of one state is not directly comparable to a school in the top 10% of another state, because the underlying assessment is different.

Methodology

Sources: NCES Common Core of Data 2024-25 (FRL share, enrollment, school metadata) and state-native assessments for the most recent available year, typically 2023-24 or 2024-25. Composite proficiency is the average of math and reading/ELA percent-met-or-exceeded across all grades tested at the school. Schools with fewer than four reported assessment rows in 2024 or 2025 are excluded. Virtual schools are excluded because their FRL reporting and assessment participation are not comparable to brick-and-mortar schools. States with fewer than 30 schools meeting the data threshold are skipped.

The regression is ordinary least squares: proficiency = a + b × (FRL share), fit independently for each state. We publish the code that computes the score in the public allk12 repository so anyone can audit or reproduce it.

HOW TO CITE THIS REPORT

Anyone is welcome to cite or republish these findings. Please credit allk12.com and link back to this page so readers can verify the underlying data.

allk12 (2026). "The 150 US public schools that most beat their demographics." Retrieved from https://allk12.com/reports/schools-beating-expectations

Source: <a href="https://allk12.com/reports/schools-beating-expectations">allk12.com</a>

For interview requests or custom data pulls: [email protected]

DOWNLOAD THE DATA

↓ schools-beating-expectations.csv

DATA NOTICE

allk12 is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by NCES, the US Census Bureau, any state education agency or assessment program, or any other government agency. Source data is compiled from public records and provided "as is," without warranty of accuracy or completeness. You rely on it, and any analysis derived from it, at your own risk. See the full disclaimer.