Rhode Island · NCES CCD 2024-25

Best School Districts in Rhode Island

Top 36 districts ranked by average school quality score, based on student-teacher ratios, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance.

36
Districts ranked
129,417
Students enrolled
38/100
Avg quality score
C-
Top grade

The ranking in one line

Glocester in Chepachet leads Rhode Island's districts with an average school quality score of 50.5/100 across 2 schools.

50.5/100
top district score (grade C-)
2
schools in Glocester
577
students in the top district
38/100
average across the top 36
# District GradeAvg Quality
1 Glocester Chepachet C- 50.5
2 Foster-Glocester North Scituate D 49
3 Narragansett Narragansett D 48
4 Barrington Barrington D 47.5
5 Portsmouth Portsmouth D 47.5
6 Scituate Clayville D 46.6
7 East Greenwich East Greenwich D 46.3
8 Smithfield Smithfield D 45.2
9 Chariho Wood River Junction D 44.1
10 North Kingstown North Kingstown D 42.9
11 North Smithfield North Smithfield D 42.3
12 South Kingstown Wakefield D 42.1
13 Burrillville Harrisville D 41.2
14 Cranston Cranston F 39.9
15 Westerly Westerly F 39.7
16 Highlander Providence F 39
17 East Providence East Providence F 38.8
18 Coventry Coventry F 38
19 Lincoln Lincoln F 37.8
20 Johnston Johnston F 37.6
21 Cumberland Cumberland F 37.1
22 Middletown Middletown F 35.8
23 Tiverton Tiverton F 34.6
24 Exeter-West Greenwich West Greenwich F 33.2
25 Achievement First Rhode Island Providence F 33.1
26 Newport Newport F 32
27 Bristol Warren Bristol F 31.7
28 Blackstone Valley Prep a Ri Mayoral Academy Cumberland F 31.2
29 North Providence North Providence F 30.8
30 Pawtucket Pawtucket F 30.4
31 Paul Cuffee Charter Sch Providence F 30.3
32 Central Falls Central Falls F 29.1
33 West Warwick West Warwick F 28
34 Woonsocket Woonsocket F 26.8
35 Providence Providence F 25.8
36 Warwick Warwick F 25.6

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best school districts in Rhode Island?

The top-ranked district in Rhode Island is Glocester in Chepachet with 577 students across 2 schools. Average quality score: 50.5/100. Rankings are based on average school quality scores from NCES data.

How are district rankings calculated?

Districts are ranked by the average quality score of their schools. Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES data: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism. Districts must have at least 500 students and 2+ schools to be ranked.

How many school districts are in Rhode Island?

Rhode Island has 36+ school districts serving 135,978 students. The statewide average student-teacher ratio is 13.4:1.

Methodology

Districts are ranked by the average quality score of their schools. Quality scores (0-100) are computed from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 metrics: student-teacher ratio, school counselor availability, gifted program access, and chronic absenteeism rates. Districts must have at least 500 students and 2+ schools to be included. This measures school-level resources, not test scores. Higher average scores indicate districts where schools generally have smaller classes, better counselor access, and lower absenteeism.