Sharonville Elementary leads Princeton district in U.S. News rankings

Sharonville Elementary School earned the highest ranking of any Princeton City School District elementary in the 2027 U.S. News Best K-8 Schools rankings, landing at No. 313 among Ohio elementary schools with an overall score of 69.35 out of 100.

Springdale Elementary School followed closely at No. 315 statewide, scoring 69.16 out of 100. That distinction helps explain why Sharonville Elementary edged out Springdale despite lower raw proficiency numbers.

The two schools serve communities at the heart of the Princeton Pike corridor. Princeton City Schools covers Sharonville, Springdale, Evendale, Woodlawn, Glendale and Lincoln Heights, among other areas. Superintendent Dr. Mari Phillips took over the district on Aug. 1, 2026.

How the rankings work

U.S. News ranked nearly 47,000 elementary schools and more than 24,000 middle schools nationwide. The rankings are statewide, with no national list. Each school's score is based on four equally weighted factors: math proficiency, math performance, reading proficiency and reading performance.

Half the formula measures raw test scores. The other half factors in results relative to a school's socioeconomic demographics. Both schools received "Well Above Expectations" ratings in math performance and reading performance.

A closer look at the numbers

Springdale Elementary posted stronger raw proficiency rates: 79% of students scored at or above the proficient level in math and 70% in reading. At Sharonville Elementary, those figures were 43% in math and 49% in reading.

Both schools outperformed the Princeton City district average of 36% in math and 48% in reading. Springdale also topped the Ohio statewide averages of 53% in math and 59% in reading. Sharonville fell below the state averages on raw proficiency.

Yet Sharonville's performance scores, which account for student demographics, rated "Well Above Expectations" in both subjects. Springdale earned the same performance rating. Sharonville serves 368 students with a 17-to-1 student-teacher ratio. Springdale enrolls 529 students, 60% of whom are economically disadvantaged, with a 19-to-1 ratio.

The assessment data is from the 2023-2024 school year, according to U.S. News.

District context

The district said in a September 2025 announcement that all Princeton elementary schools met state standards on the Ohio School Report Card, earning three stars or higher on the state's five-star scale. The district earned five stars in its Gap Closing component and five stars in Progress for four straight years.

A new state-approved elementary reading program was piloted during the 2024-2025 school year and rolled out district-wide, the district said, as part of Ohio's Science of Reading initiative.