Editor’s note: This article, originally published at 1:35 p.m. on Oct. 30, 2024, was updated at 1:28 p.m. on Oct. 31, 2024, to correct Winston Churchill High School’s fourth-place ranking.
Poolesville High School, Cabin John Middle School in Potomac and Westbrook Elementary School in Bethesda are the state’s No. 1 best public high, middle and elementary schools, respectively, according to the Niche 2025 Best Schools rankings.
In Niche’s annual ranking of top public high schools in the state, Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda took second and Winston Churchill High School in Potomac took fourth, according to the website.
Several other Montgomery County public schools also were named among the top five best schools in the same categories, according to Niche.
Niche is a website that connects colleges and schools with students and families, according to its website. It profiles, grades and ranks schools across the country, using surveys and data including state assessments, teacher salaries and racial and economic diversity.
Last year Poolesville was ranked No. 1 in Maryland, while Walt Whitman and Winston Churchill were ranked third and fourth.
Niche gave Poolesville an overall grade of A+, with an A+ in the academics, teachers and college preparation categories; an A in diversity, an A- in administration and B+ in clubs and activities.
In Niche’s 2025 ranking of best public middle schools in the state, Cabin John Middle School took the No. 1 spot, while Thomas W. Pyle Middle School in Bethesda ranked fifth.
Cabin John earned an overall A grade from Niche, an A in academics and diversity and an A+ in the teachers category.
For Maryland elementary schools, county schools took the top five spots in Niche’s rankings. Niche awarded Westbrook Elementary the No. 1 spot, Stone Mill Elementary in North Potomac earned second, and Seven Locks Elementary in Bethesda took third. Potomac’s Wayside and Rockville’s Ritchie Park elementary schools earned fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Westbrook also received an overall A grade, with an A in academics, A- in diversity and A+ in the teachers category.
The high rankings for the school come amid the school system losing status in other rankings. Walt Whitman, ranked third in Niche’s list, lost its longstanding spot in the top 100 in the U.S. News & World Report rankings of the top U.S. public high schools in 2021, and dropped lower in 2024. Poolesville also slipped lower in the rankings from 2021 to 2024.
On Niche’s list, Poolesville High ranked No. 32 in all public high schools in America. Cabin John Middle School ranked 465 of public middle schools nationally and Westbrook Elementary ranked 908 of public elementary schools nationally.
Journalist Amy Halpern contributed to this story.
