Not one public elementary school in Suffolk County cracked the top 100 in U.S. News & World Report’s “2026 Best Elementary and Middle Schools” rankings.
Lloyd Harbor School in Huntington, part of the Cold Spring Harbor School District, is Suffolk County’s highest-ranked public elementary school in the U.S. News study — coming in just outside the top 100, at No. 101.
Nassakeag Elementary School in East Setauket, the highest-ranked Suffolk elementary in last year’s report, fell 30 slots from No. 89 to No. 129, but still came in as the county’s second-highest ranked school.
U.S. News evaluated more than 47,000 public elementary schools nationwide, with state and district-level breakdowns, including charter schools, which were ranked separately.
“These rankings offer communities and families valuable insights into schools dedicated to preparing students for future success,” said LaMont Jones, managing editor for education at U.S. News.
The rankings were based on publicly available data from the U.S. Department of Education, focusing on state assessments of students proficient or above in mathematics and reading/language arts.
Evaluations also accounted for student background and core subject achievement, with student-teacher ratios used to break ties.
Below is a list of the top 10 elementary schools in Suffolk, according to the U.S. News study.
1. Lloyd Harbor School
District: Cold Spring Harbor
State ranking: No. 101
Overall score: 95.79
Reading proficiency: 77%
Math proficiency: 89%
2. Nassakeag Elementary School
District: Three Village
State ranking: No. 129
Overall score: 94.62
Reading proficiency: 77%
Math proficiency: 84%
3. Quogue School
District: Quogue
State ranking: No. 181
Overall score: 92.39
Reading proficiency: 75%
Math proficiency: 85%
4. Fort Salonga Elementary School
District: Kings Park
State ranking: No. 199
Overall score: 91.67
Reading proficiency: 82%
Math proficiency: 75%
5. Bretton Woods Elementary School
District: Hauppauge
State ranking: No. 213
Overall score: 91.08
Reading proficiency: 72%
Math proficiency: 77%
6. Minnesauke Elementary School
District: Three Village
State ranking: No. 219
Overall score: 90.83
Reading proficiency: 72%
Math proficiency: 82%
7. Mills Pond Elementary School
District: Smithtown
State ranking: No. 222
Overall score: 90.7
Reading proficiency: 72%
Math proficiency: 82%
8. Vanderbilt Elementary School
District: Half Hollow Hills
State ranking: No. 223
Overall score: 90.66
Reading proficiency: 68%
Math proficiency: 83%
9. Park View Elementary School
District: Kings Park
State ranking: No. 322
Overall score: 86.5
Reading proficiency: 65%
Math proficiency: 85%
10. Paumanok Elementary School
District: Half Hollow Hills
State ranking: No. 327
Overall score: 86.29
Reading proficiency: 61%
Math proficiency: 87%
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