Best Public Schools in Nebraska

Top 50 schools ranked by resource quality score. Based on student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs & attendance. NCES CCD 2022-23.

78/100
Top Score
Hampton Elementary School
72/100
Avg Score (Top 50)
50
Schools Ranked
NE
State
# School Score Grade
1. Hampton Elementary School HAMPTON 78 B+
2. Wheeler Central Elementary #45 BARTLETT 78 B+
3. Htrs Elementary School HUMBOLDT 77 B+
4. Bloomfield Jr-Sr High School BLOOMFIELD 76 B+
5. Clarkson Elementary School CLARKSON 76 B+
6. Verdigre Elementary School VERDIGRE 76 B+
7. Ponca High School PONCA 75 B+
8. Brady Elementary School BRADY 75 B+
9. Shickley Elementary School SHICKLEY 74 B
10. Arcadia Elementary School ARCADIA 74 B
11. Franklin High School FRANKLIN 74 B
12. Hayes Center Secondary School HAYES CENTER 74 B
13. Shickley High School SHICKLEY 74 B
14. Arcadia High School ARCADIA 74 B
15. Diller-Odell Elem School DILLER 73 B
16. Paxton High School PAXTON 73 B
17. Elementary School at Scribner SCRIBNER 73 B
18. Mc Cool Junction Elem School MCCOOL JUNCTION 72 B
19. Lake Maloney Elementary School NORTH PLATTE 72 B
20. Leigh High School LEIGH 72 B
21. Stapleton Elementary School STAPLETON 72 B
22. Elwood High School ELWOOD 72 B
23. Ainsworth High School AINSWORTH 71 B
24. So Platte Elem at Big Springs BIG SPRINGS 71 B
25. High Plains Community Jr/Sr High School POLK 71 B
26. Newman Grove High School NEWMAN GROVE 71 B
27. Verdigre High School VERDIGRE 71 B
28. Bellwood Elementary School BELLWOOD 71 B
29. Htrs Middle School HUMBOLDT 71 B
30. Roosevelt Elementary School SCOTTSBLUFF 70 B
31. Bloomfield Elementary School BLOOMFIELD 70 B
32. Dorchester Elementary School DORCHESTER 70 B
33. Ainsworth Elementary School AINSWORTH 70 B
34. Winside Elementary School WINSIDE 70 B
35. Maxwell Elementary School MAXWELL 70 B
36. Meridian Elementary School DAYKIN 70 B
37. Osceola High School OSCEOLA 70 B
38. Htrs High School HUMBOLDT 70 B
39. Wisner-Pilger Elem School WISNER 69 B-
40. Yutan Elementary School YUTAN 69 B-
41. Prairie Lane Elementary School OMAHA 69 B-
42. Oakland Craig Elementary OAKLAND 69 B-
43. Perkins County Junior- Senior High School GRANT 69 B-
44. Palmer Elementary School PALMER 69 B-
45. Plainview Secondary School PLAINVIEW 69 B-
46. Mccool Junction Jr-Sr High Sch MCCOOL JUNCTION 69 B-
47. Elementary School at Brainard BRAINARD 69 B-
48. Ansley Elementary School ANSLEY 69 B-
49. Osmond Elementary School OSMOND 69 B-
50. Paxton Elementary School PAXTON 69 B-

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best public schools in Nebraska? ▼

The top-rated school in Nebraska is Hampton Elementary School in HAMPTON with a quality score of 78/100 (grade B+). Rankings are based on student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, gifted programs, and attendance rates from NCES data.

How are school quality scores calculated? ▼

Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES data across 4 metrics: student-teacher ratio (lower is better, national avg ~16:1), counselor availability (ASCA recommends 250:1), gifted program availability, and chronic absenteeism rate (lower is better). This measures school resources, not test scores.

Explore More for Nebraska

All Schools → Largest Schools → Absenteeism Data → Highest Spending → National Ranking →

Methodology

Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2022-23 metrics: student-teacher ratio, school counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism rates. Schools must have at least 50 students and data for one or more metrics. This measures resource quality, not test scores. Higher scores indicate smaller class sizes, better counselor access, and lower absenteeism.

Read our methodology — how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.