U.S. News and World Report's new list of ranking the best K-8 schools in Texas for 2027 has hailed one Houston ISD school — Spring Branch Academic Institute — the No. 1 best elementary and middle school statewide.

In all, 12 Houston-area elementary and middle schools were named among the top 25 most brilliant beacons of Texas early education in U.S. News' annual Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings.

Over 70,000 public schools were analyzed on the state and district level using publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education. Schools were analyzed based on students' proficiency in mathematics and reading while accounting "for student background and absolute performance on state assessments." To break ties in overall scores, schools with a lower student-teacher ratio prevailed.

"By incorporating direct state data across all proficiency levels, the 2027 rankings offer a richer, more complete picture of how elementary and middle schools are driving student growth," said Eric Brooks, U.S. News director of education data analysis. "This refined approach gives families, educators and community leaders an even clearer view of academic achievement, helping them identify standard-setting schools and support continued success for all students."

Spring Branch Academic Institute made its debut this year after being unranked last year. According to its U.S. News profile, the school has a 5 to 1 student-teacher ratio, and 100 percent of students scored at or above the proficient level in both math and reading.

"Spring Branch Academic Institute did better in math and better in reading in this metric compared with students across the state," the profile said. "In Texas, 52 percent of students tested at or above the proficient level for reading, and 42 percent tested at or above that level for math."

SBAI and T. H. Rogers School in Houston ISD were the only two local schools that ranked among the statewide top 10 elementary schools for 2027. T. H. Rogers School ranked as the No. 4 best elementary school in Texas this year, up from its previous No. 13 rank last year, and it ranked No. 5 among the best Texas middle schools.

The other Houston-area schools that appeared among the top 25 best elementary schools in Texas include:

• No. 14 – Creekside Forest Elementary, Tomball ISD (down from No. 7 last year)
• No. 15 – West University Elementary, Houston ISD (up from No. 28 last year)
• No. 19 – Stafford STEM Magnet Academy (down from No. 16 last year)
• No. 21 – Commonwealth Elementary, Fort Bend ISD (down from No. 9 last year)

• No. 13 – Fort Settlement Middle School, Fort Bend ISD (up from No. 20 last year)
• No. 15 – Stafford STEM Magnet Academy (down from No. 12 last year)
• No. 18 – Seven Lakes Junior High School, Katy ISD (up from No. 19 last year)
• No. 19 – Beckendorff Junior High School, Katy ISD (up from No. 31 last year)
• No. 24 – Memorial Middle School, Spring Branch ISD (up from No. 40 last year)