Nebraska, the vast, agriculturally-rich Great Plains state dividing the eastern and western parts of the country, is a quiet heavyweight in public education: the Cornhusker State ranks fifth nationwide in high school graduation rate, according to the latest survey by U.S. News & World Report.

The best public school district in Nebraska is Bennington Public Schools, serving the small town of Bennington, NE. Comprising three elementaries, a middle school, and a high school, the district exceeds statewide standards in nearly every measure.

Elkhorn Public Schools, based in the western part of the Omaha metro area, ranks #2 in the state. On account of its reputation as excellent school system with a high graduation rate, enrollment in EPS schools has grown by more than 6% with each year.

Placing third is Norris School District #160, whose four schools serve the communities of Lancaster County, NE. The district is small and rural-based, but is growing steadily with an eye towards the future: Norris was recently one of the first few hundred schools around the globe to be a Google Reference District.

At #4 is Stapleton Public Schools, another modestly-sized district with a hardworking, high achieving student body. U.S. News and World Report recently bestowed Stapleton High School with a bronze medal due to students’ high proficiency in math and English.

Rounding out the top five is Millard Public Schools, headquartered in southwest Omaha, NE. Much larger than the districts before it in the ranking, Millard’s standard of excellence has been recognized for a long time running; 13 of its schools have been honored with the Blue Ribbon Award.

Methodology

The following contributed to the ranking: student performance (math and reading test scores), dropout rates, school funding, and area poverty rates. Data was collected from a total of 9,577 school districts.

Did your district make the list?