Michigan’s 50 highest-ranked middle schools are all located across the southern half of the state with a handful of communities having multiple schools included as part of an updated analysis released this week by U.S. News and World Report.

Rankings for the 2026 Best Elementary and Middle Schools were unveiled on Tuesday, Oct. 28. The larger report covers 47,000 public elementary and 23,000 middle schools ranked at state and district levels nationwide.

According to a news release, the U.S. News rankings focus on state assessments of students who scored proficient or above in math and reading or language arts. They also consider student backgrounds and achievement and student-teacher ratios.

In Michigan, six middle schools in the top 50 are located in Grand Rapids, whereas three are

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