PITTSBURGH, PA — Fifteen Pittsburgh-area elementary schools ranks among 25 best elementary schools in Pennsylvania, according to a new ranking by U.S. News & World Report.

U.S. News researchers based the 2026 ranking of the nation’s best public elementary schools
on publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education. Elementary schools are considered either pre-K-5 or pre-K-6 in the analysis. For schools that have a wider grade span, only tests through
fifth grade were considered.

There are the top elementary schools in the Pittsburgh area. Their state ranking is listed parenthetically.

1. Pleasant Valley Elementary School, Peters Township School District (1)

2. Fairview Elementary School, Fox Chapel Area School District (2)

3. Bradford Woods Elementary School, North Allegheny School District (3)

4. Bower Hill Elementary School, Peters Township School District (6)

5. Baker Elementary School, Upper St. Clair School District (7)

6. William Penn Elementary School, Bethel Park School District (9)

7. O’Hara Elementary School, Fox Chapel Area School District (11)

8. McCormick Elementary School, Moon Area School District (12)

9. Franklin Elementary School, North Allegheny School District (13)

10. Wexford Elementary School, Pine-Richland School District (15)

11. Hartwood Elementary School, Fox Chapel Area School District (16)

12. Wyland Elementary School, Hampton Area School District (18)

13. Donaldson Elementary School, West Allegheny School District (19)

14. Sunset Valley Elementary School, Norwin (20)

15. Markham Elementary School, Mt. Lebanon (22)

The report includes about 47,000 public elementary schools ranked at the state and district levels based on publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education.

For district-level rankings, at least two of the top-performing schools must rank in the top 75 percent of the overall elementary or middle school rankings to qualify for
recognition.

“The 2026 Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings highlight institutions that excel in fostering student achievement and providing exceptional learning environments for all,” U.S. News said of the report.

The rankings methodology focuses on state assessments of students who were proficient or above proficient in mathematics and reading/language arts,while accounting for student background and achievement in core subjects. Student-teacher ratios are applied to break ties in the
overall score.