Bixby North Elementary School scored 98.93 out of 100 in the 2027 U.S. News Best K-8 Schools rankings, placing it No. 8 among 658 ranked elementary schools in Oklahoma.
That makes the school the highest-rated elementary in the Tulsa metro coverage area, which includes Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Jenks, Owasso and Sand Springs. No other school from those communities cracked the statewide top 10.
The rankings, released Oct. 20, evaluated nearly 47,000 elementary schools and more than 24,000 middle schools nationwide. Schools were ranked at the state and district level based on four equally weighted factors: math proficiency, math performance, reading proficiency and reading performance.
Half the formula assessed raw test scores. The other half factored in results alongside socioeconomic demographics, according to U.S. News.
Bixby North by the numbers
Bixby North Elementary serves 644 students in pre-K through third grade at 7101 East 121st Street in Bixby. The school has a 16-to-1 student-teacher ratio, lower than the district average, with 40 full-time teachers. All 40 are certified.
Seventy-two percent of students scored at or above the proficient level in math, and 57% reached that mark in reading, according to the school's U.S. News profile. Statewide, only 29% of elementary students hit proficiency in math and 26% in reading.
The school ranked No. 5 (tied) statewide in math proficiency and No. 11 (tied) in reading proficiency. Both its math and reading performance ratings were classified as "well above expectations."
Twenty-two percent of Bixby North students are classified as economically disadvantaged. The Bixby school district enrolls 8,374 students across 10 schools.
How the rankings work
U.S. News ranks only public K-8 schools because they participate in common statewide assessments that allow comparison, the publication stated. The underlying test data came from the EdFacts Initiative for the 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 school years.
Steve Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research and a Board of Governors Professor of Education at Rutgers University, said state assessment data can help parents make informed choices.
"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.
Oklahoma's top 10 elementary schools
For comparison, here is the full statewide top 10, according to the U.S. News Oklahoma rankings:
- Schwartz Elementary School, Oklahoma City
- Clegern Elementary School, Edmond
- Richmond Elementary School, Stillwater
- Wayland Bonds Elementary School, Oklahoma City
- Cross Timbers Elementary School, Edmond
- South Lake Elementary School, Oklahoma City
- Hydro-Eakly Elementary School, Hydro
- Bixby North Elementary School, Bixby
- Sadler Arts Academy, Muskogee
- Oakdale Public School, Edmond
Schwartz Elementary, the No. 1 school statewide, earned a perfect 100 out of 100 score. Located in Oklahoma City's Midwest City-Del City district, Schwartz posted 82% math proficiency and 72% reading proficiency among its 311 students.
Families can browse individual school profiles and district comparisons on the U.S. News K-12 directory.
