Rockwood Schools Ranked Among Best in State, Nation by Niche

Rockwood School District is the No. 4 district in the state of Missouri, according to Niche.com's 2026 rankings.

Niche, a website that helps families discover schools and neighborhoods, based its rankings on a number of factors, including academics; teachers; college prep; administration; culture and diversity; parent/student surveys; resources and facilities; clubs and activities; and sports.

As a district, Rockwood received an A grade from the site and ranked in the top 1 percent of the 459 districts surveyed in the state. All 29 of our elementary, middle and high schools received at least an A- grade, including three that received an A+ and 23 that received an A or above.

“Rockwood is a high-quality district that provides programs for acceleration and differentiation,” a graduate wrote in the Niche reviews section. “Classes are student-focused and provide a variety of opportunities in different areas from art to music to STEM and everything in between. There are also plenty of resources for technology, after-school clubs and sports. Overall, I feel it's a well-rounded district which meets the needs of all students.”

Rockwood ranked in the top 3.5 percent of Niche's national rankings, which polled nearly 10,500 districts nationwide.

Lafayette (No. 4), Marquette (No. 6), Rockwood Summit (No. 12) and Eureka (No. 26) all finished within the top 6 percent of the more than 500 Missouri public high schools surveyed in the rankings. Lafayette earned an A+, and Lafayette and Marquette and finished in the top 4 percent nationally of more than 20,000 ranked high schools. The two schools also ranked in the top 2.5 percent in Missouri for "Best College Prep Public High Schools," and all four Rockwood high schools rank within the top 7.5 percent in the state.

Rockwood also topped Niche's list of "Best School Districts for Athletes" in Missouri and ranked No. 99 nationally – in the top 1 percent – of nearly 10,000 districts surveyed. Eureka (No. 8), Rockwood Summit (No. 11), and Lafayette (No. 15) ranked in the top 3 percent of nearly 600 schools surveyed in the state as "Best High Schools for Athletes," and all three schools also ranked in the top 3 percent of more than 21,000 schools ranked nationally.

All four Rockwood high schools also ranked among the top 46 of 108 schools statewide recognized as “Best High Schools for STEM” (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).

Crestview (No. 3), Wildwood (No. 5), Rockwood Valley (No. 11) and Selvidge (No. 15) finished within the top 3 percent of more than 500 state public middle schools. Crestview received an A+, Wildwood, Rockwood Valley and Selvidge each received an A, and all four schools ranked within the top 4 percent nationally of nearly 26,000 ranked middle schools.

Wild Horse (No. 7), Kehrs Mill (No. 11) and Chesterfield (No. 12) finished within the top 1.5 percent of nearly 1,150 state public elementary schools. Wild Horse received an A+, and Kehrs Mill and Chesterfield each earned an A. All three schools ranked among the top 2 percent nationally of the nearly 51,000 surveyed elementary schools.

Congratulations to all the students, staff members and families who continue to make Rockwood such an outstanding educational community! ​