Deer Run Elementary ranks No. 6 in Ohio

Deer Run Elementary School placed sixth out of 1,019 public elementary schools in Ohio in the 2027 U.S. News & World Report Best Elementary Schools rankings.

The K-5 school on Avery Road scored 99.51 out of 100, making it the highest-ranked Dublin City Schools elementary in the state. Ninety-two percent of Deer Run students scored at or above the proficient level in reading, and 81% hit that mark in math, according to the school's U.S. News profile.

Those numbers top the district average. Across Dublin City Schools, 79% of elementary students tested proficient or above in reading and 74% in math, according to U.S. News district data. Statewide, 59% of students met the reading benchmark and 53% met it in math.

Deer Run ranked seventh in Ohio in both reading proficiency and math proficiency individually. Its reading and math performance ratings each came in at "well above expectations."

The school enrolls 356 students and has 22 full-time teachers, all certified, for a 17-to-1 student-teacher ratio. Four percent of its students are economically disadvantaged.

Deer Run opened in 1980 near Deer Run Creek in northwest Dublin, according to the school's website. District enrollment at the time was 2,507 students. Dublin City Schools now serves 16,967 students across 23 schools.

How the rankings work

U.S. News ranked 46,713 public elementary schools nationwide. The rankings are calculated at the state and district level; there is no national ranking. Each school's score is weighted equally across four factors: math proficiency, math performance, reading proficiency and reading performance. The assessment data used in the rankings comes from the 2023-2024 school year, according to the ranking methodology.

Half the formula measures raw test scores. The other half factors in results relative to a school's socioeconomic demographics. Private schools are excluded because they do not take the same state assessments.

Steve Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research and a professor of education at Rutgers University, said the rankings give families a tool beyond word of mouth. "What information could they use? Often, they don't have anything but reputation, which doesn't tell you about what the school contributes," Barnett said in the U.S. News report.

Ohio's top 10 elementary schools