Buckeye Union Mandarin Immersion Charter in El Dorado Hills earned the No. 1 ranking among California elementary schools in the 2027 U.S. News & World Report Best Elementary Schools list released Oct. 20.

The 180-student charter school on Silva Valley Parkway topped all 5,920 ranked elementary schools statewide. According to U.S. News, 98% of students scored at or above the proficient level in reading and 96% in math. The school placed No. 1 in reading proficiency and No. 7 in math proficiency statewide, with both categories rated "well above expectations."

Those numbers dwarf the statewide averages. Across California, 43% of elementary students tested proficient in reading and 36% in math, according to U.S. News.

The school is part of the nine-school Buckeye Union School District, led by Superintendent David Roth. It has 12 full-time certified teachers and a 15-to-1 student-teacher ratio. U.S. News lists the school as a K-12 charter, though enrollment data shows students through seventh grade.

Closer to home in Folsom, Mangini Ranch Elementary placed No. 268 statewide with an overall score of 95.47 out of 100, according to its U.S. News profile. The K-5 school on Sparrow Drive posted 87% reading proficiency and 81% math proficiency among its 598 students. That outpaced the Folsom-Cordova Unified School District average of 54% in reading and 50% in math.

The 2027 rankings used an updated methodology that incorporates data collected directly from state education agencies by RTI International, alongside U.S. Department of Education data, according to a U.S. News press release. The rankings evaluate student performance in math and reading alongside student demographic context. State assessment data is from the 2023-2024 school year.

Eric Brooks, U.S. News director of education data analysis, said in the press release that the updated approach uses direct state data across all proficiency levels to provide a more complete picture of how schools are driving student growth.

Neither the Buckeye Union School District nor Folsom-Cordova Unified had posted public statements about the rankings as of publication.

California's top 10 elementary schools, per U.S. News (2027):

  1. Buckeye Union Mandarin Immersion Charter, El Dorado Hills
  2. Cold Spring Elementary, Santa Barbara
  3. Murdock-Portal Elementary, San Jose
  4. William Faria Elementary, Cupertino
  5. North Star Academy, Redwood City
  6. Herbert Hoover Elementary, Palo Alto
  7. Covington Elementary, Los Altos
  8. Bullis Charter, Los Altos
  9. Elkhorn, Stockton
  10. Jack L. Weaver Elementary, Los Alamitos