Herbert Hoover Middle School in Potomac placed 14th among Maryland's best public middle schools in U.S. News & World Report's 2027 rankings, released Tuesday, Oct. 20.
Two Potomac middle schools made the top 14. Cabin John Middle School, which feeds into both the Churchill and Wootton clusters, ranked No. 10, as we reported Thursday, Oct. 22.
Herbert Hoover is a sixth- through eighth-grade school in the Winston Churchill High School cluster. It draws students from Beverly Farms, Potomac and Wayside elementary schools, according to MCPS cluster records. Students at Herbert Hoover feed into Churchill High School in Potomac.
Seven Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) middle schools landed in Maryland's top 40, The MoCo Show reported. Thomas W. Pyle Middle School in Bethesda led the county at No. 4 statewide. After Cabin John at No. 10 and Herbert Hoover at No. 14, the MCPS list continued with Takoma Park Middle at No. 20, Robert Frost Middle in Rockville at No. 25, Westland Middle at No. 28 and John Poole Middle at No. 32.
South Dorchester School in Church Creek earned the No. 1 spot in Maryland, Patch reported. The rankings evaluated more than 24,000 public middle schools nationwide.
For the first time, U.S. News incorporated data collected directly from state education agencies by RTI International, alongside U.S. Department of Education data. The updated methodology measures student performance in reading and math across all proficiency levels while accounting for student background and absolute performance on state assessments, according to a U.S. News press release.
Eric Brooks, U.S. News director of education data analysis, said the new approach using direct state data "gives families, educators and community leaders an even clearer view of academic achievement."
No public statement from Herbert Hoover's principal or from MCPS about the school's No. 14 ranking has appeared in public records. Families can view the full rankings at usnews.com/education/k12.
