Lake Windward Elementary School in Alpharetta landed the No. 9 spot among Georgia's 1,260 ranked public elementary schools in the 2027 U.S. News Best Elementary Schools rankings.

The school, at 11770 E. Fox Ct., earned an overall score of 99.36 out of 100. U.S. News released the rankings on Oct. 20.

Lake Windward's test results drove the high marks. Ninety percent of students scored at or above the proficient level in math, and 80% reached that level in reading, according to U.S. News. Those figures far outpace Fulton County Schools (FCS) district averages of 52% in math and 51% in reading. Statewide, just 41% of students hit the math proficiency mark and 39% reached it in reading.

The school also earned "well above expectations" ratings in both math and reading performance, which factor in student demographics alongside raw scores. Its reading proficiency ranked 14th statewide and math proficiency ranked 10th.

Lake Windward serves 672 students in pre-K through fifth grade with a 13:1 student-teacher ratio, lower than the district average, according to U.S. News. The school has 51 full-time teachers, 90% of whom are certified.

Principal Lauren Busing took the helm at Lake Windward after serving as assistant principal at Cogburn Woods Elementary School, according to the school's website. She previously worked as a classroom teacher and instructional coach in Fulton County.

The strong showing aligns with broader gains across FCS. The district reported in August that students improved on 2025-26 Georgia Milestones assessments in every tested subject. Math proficiency districtwide rose to 57.5%, a 2.5 percentage-point increase over the prior year, according to FCS.

Superintendent Dr. Mike Looney said of the Milestones results: "These gains reflect the hard work of our teachers, school leaders, support staff, students and families. While we are proud of the progress our students have made, we also know there is more work to do to ensure every student reaches their full potential."

U.S. News ranked about 46,000 public elementary schools and more than 24,000 middle schools nationwide, according to a press release from the publication. Schools are ranked at the state and district levels. There is no national ranking.

The methodology weights four factors equally at 25% each: math proficiency, math performance, reading proficiency and reading performance. Half the formula measures raw scores. The other half accounts for socioeconomic demographics. The rankings use state assessment data from the 2023-2024 school year.

Families can look up any school's ranking and profile at usnews.com/education/k12.