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Best Public Schools in Berea, KY

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its Kentucky rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

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At a glance

Schools

4,658

Students

Districts

5-star schools

Top rankedMadison Southern High School10^th of 262 Kentucky high schools

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Biggest riser

Berea Community High School up 33 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Berea Community Middle School 10.7 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

5★

4★

3★

2★

1★

1 school without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

Compare Kentucky cities →See the top-ranked Kentucky schools →

Summary:

Berea, Kentucky, has nine schools—four elementary, three middle and two high schools—across the Madison County and Berea Independent districts. The 2025–2026 KSA results show a mixed picture: some schools are well above Kentucky’s matched results, while others lag, even within the same grade. The most striking difference is in eighth grade at Farristown Middle School and Berea Community Middle School: math scores are 67% and 21%, and writing scores are 77% and 32%.

Farristown Middle School stands out overall, averaging 60% across its reported results, compared with 35% at Berea Community Middle School and 42% for the matched state results; Farristown leads or ties for the lead in five of six subjects. At the high-school level, both schools are above the state in all six reported subjects: Madison Southern High School averages 59%, and Berea Community High School averages 51%. Berea Community High leads social studies, 63% to Madison Southern’s 54%. Elementary results are mixed: Shannon Johnson Elementary School and Kingston Elementary School average 51% and 49%, above the matched state average of 44%; Silver Creek Elementary School and Berea Community Elementary School average 37% and 35%.

Matched results declined by an average of 3 points from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, while state results were nearly unchanged; the two high schools bucked that pattern, rising by an average of 4 points at Madison Southern and 8 points at Berea Community High. Attendance is a concern despite strong high-school test results: chronic absenteeism is 31% at Madison Southern and 34% at Berea Community High, versus 24% statewide. SchoolDigger’s ranking histories also differ: Farristown fell from the 98th to the 92nd percentile, while Madison Southern rose from the 93rd to the 96th. As context, for 2024–2025, 45% of Farristown students and 66% of Berea Community Middle students were free/reduced lunch eligible; their student-teacher ratios were 16.9 and 10.7, respectively. These measures describe differences among schools, not what causes their results.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				KSA Mathematics (2026)							KSA Reading (2026)							KSA Science (2026)			KSA Writing (2026)			KSA Social Studies (2026)			KSA Editing and Mechanics (2026)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	KSA Mathematics 3rd Grade	KSA Mathematics 4th Grade	KSA Mathematics 5th Grade	KSA Mathematics 6th Grade	KSA Mathematics 7th Grade	KSA Mathematics 8th Grade	KSA Mathematics 10th Grade	KSA Reading 3rd Grade	KSA Reading 4th Grade	KSA Reading 5th Grade	KSA Reading 6th Grade	KSA Reading 7th Grade	KSA Reading 8th Grade	KSA Reading 10th Grade	KSA Science 4th Grade	KSA Science 7th Grade	KSA Science 11th Grade	KSA Writing 5th Grade	KSA Writing 8th Grade	KSA Writing 11th Grade	KSA Social Studies 5th Grade	KSA Social Studies 8th Grade	KSA Social Studies 11th Grade	KSA Editing and Mechanics 5th Grade	KSA Editing and Mechanics 8th Grade	KSA Editing and Mechanics 11th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Berea Community Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2 Pirate Pkwy	Berea	40403	Madison County	Berea Independent	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 986-4065	448	35	12.8	69.0%	358 (79.9%)	20 (4.5%)	26 (5.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	42 (9.4%)	29.4	503^rd of 684 public elementary schools	26.5%		45	380^th of 685 public elementary schools	44.5%	123	28.0	27.0	32.0					45.0	44.0	47.0					41.0			13.0			24.0			44.0			$22,274	$1,843	$16,774
Berea Community High School	Public	9-12	1 Pirate Pkwy	Berea	40403	Madison County	Berea Independent	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 986-4911	309	22	13.9	51.5%	254 (82.2%)	4 (1.3%)	24 (7.8%)	3 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (7.8%)	77.3	40^th of 262 public high schools	84.7%		61.8	73^rd of 254 public high schools	71.3%	33							48.0							65.0			29.0			49.0			63.0			54.0	$22,659	$1,913	$17,089
Berea Community Middle School	Public	6-8	1 Pirate Pkwy	Berea	40403	Madison County	Berea Independent	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 986-4911	214	20	10.7	65.9%	176 (82.2%)	8 (3.7%)	15 (7.0%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	12 (5.6%)	30.6	235^th of 326 public middle schools	27.9%		44.8	173^rd of 320 public middle schools	45.9%	62				39.0	29.0	21.0					50.0	52.0	33.0			22.0			32.0			32.0			41.0		$24,042	$2,391	$17,995
Kingston Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2845 Battlefield Memorial HWY	Berea	40403	Madison County	Madison County	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 625-6091	608	37	16.2	54.8%	539 (88.7%)	15 (2.5%)	28 (4.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (4.1%)	58.5	257^th of 684 public elementary schools	62.4%		57.6	278^th of 685 public elementary schools	59.4%	21	43.0	36.0	51.0					53.0	51.0	67.0					27.0			55.0			56.0			50.0			$17,518	$197	$11,215
Silver Creek Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	75 Old US 25 N	Berea	40403	Madison County	Madison County	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 387-3200	490	34	14.3	58.8%	452 (92.2%)	9 (1.8%)	10 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (3.9%)	35.2	464^th of 684 public elementary schools	32.2%		47.8	353^rd of 685 public elementary schools	48.5%	111	20.0	34.0	27.0					47.0	49.0	53.0					24.0			40.0			37.0			43.0			$18,915	$378	$12,402
Foley Middle School	Public	6-8	275 Glades Rd	Berea	40403	Madison County	Madison County	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 625-6140	429	24	17.6	57.1%	395 (92.1%)	2 (0.5%)	14 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (3.7%)	54.7	127^th of 326 public middle schools	61.0%		65.3	96^th of 320 public middle schools	70.0%	31				39.0	28.0	40.0					56.0	41.0	60.0			25.0			59.0			57.0			52.0		$18,795	$155	$12,470
Madison Southern High School	Public	9-12	279 Glades Rd	Berea	40403	Madison County	Madison County	No	No	No	No	(859) 625-6148	1,224	68	18.0	47.5%	1,102 (90.0%)	19 (1.6%)	46 (3.8%)	8 (0.7%)	4 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (3.7%)	91.3	10^th of 262 public high schools	96.2%		86.8	16^th of 254 public high schools	93.7%	6							65.0							75.0			42.0			63.0			54.0			55.0	$18,439	$136	$11,692
Shannon Johnson Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	109 Oakwood Dr	Berea	40403	Madison County	Madison County	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 387-3400	473	31	15.0	57.3%	412 (87.1%)	8 (1.7%)	21 (4.4%)	8 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (5.1%)	63.6	221^st of 684 public elementary schools	67.7%		70.4	169^th of 685 public elementary schools	75.3%	52	30.0	47.0	56.0					64.0	49.0	67.0					40.0			47.0			45.0			64.0			$18,110	$219	$11,711
Farristown Middle School	Public	6-8	751 Farristown Industrial Road	Berea	40403	Madison County	Madison County	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 387-8600	463	27	16.9	44.5%	417 (90.1%)	8 (1.7%)	22 (4.8%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (2.8%)	86	27^th of 326 public middle schools	91.7%		88.9	20^th of 320 public middle schools	93.8%	7				49.0	54.0	67.0					69.0	70.0	61.0			45.0			77.0			60.0			52.0		$19,239	$201	$13,301
Ignite Academy South	Public	9-12	123 Farristown Industrial Driv	Berea	40403	Madison County	Madison County	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(859) 624-4500	0	4	.0	—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)

Cities Near Berea

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Richmond	7.86 mi	16	79^th
Mount Vernon	10.1 mi	6	175^th
Paint Lick	10.79 mi	1	98^th
Sandgap	12.53 mi	1	97^th
Waco	13.38 mi	1	219^th

See the top KY Kentucky cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Kentucky Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.