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Best Public Schools in Covington, 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

4,692

Students

Districts

Top rankedRyland Heights Elementary School71^st of 684 Kentucky elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Ninth District Elementary up 98 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Ninth District Elementary 11.1 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

2★

1★

0★

3 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

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Summary:

Covington, Kentucky, has 12 schools: eight elementary schools serving PK–5 or K–5, one middle school, two high schools, and one alternative school, with options extending through adult education. In 2025–2026, elementary averages were above Kentucky’s in reading, math, fourth-grade science, and fifth-grade social studies, but below in writing and editing and mechanics. The most important finding for families is that school-level results differ widely: elementary-school ranges run from 25 points in third-grade reading to 50 points in fifth-grade writing.

Ryland Heights Elementary is the most consistent elementary standout, including 77% in fourth-grade reading—27 points above the state—and 60% in fifth-grade writing, 25 points above. Ft Wright Elementary leads third-grade math and reading and fifth-grade editing and mechanics, with 71% in editing, 23 points above the state; Taylor Mill Elementary leads fifth-grade reading at 70%, 19 points above. At the lower end, Sixth District Elementary has the lowest score in four of ten comparisons, including 21% in fifth-grade math versus 43% statewide. Ninth District Elementary has 34% in fourth-grade reading versus 50% statewide. Holmes High School is below the state in all six reported measures; Holmes Middle School is below in every reported comparison.

Year-to-year results varied: across 92 matched school results, the average fell about 2 points while the state average was essentially flat. Ninth District improved by an average of 9 points per result, while Glenn O Swing Elementary fell by an average of 11 points; SchoolDigger’s statewide rank percentile for Glenn O Swing also declined from 78th to 48th over three years. Enrollment measures do not sort schools into a simple pattern: for 2024–2025, free/reduced lunch eligibility was 41% at Ryland Heights, 44% at Taylor Mill, and 56% at Ft Wright, each with multiple results above state averages. Ryland Heights’ student-teacher ratio was 15.2, compared with 11.1 at Ninth District; these are contextual differences, not explanations for scores.

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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
John G Carlisle Elementary	Public	K-5	910 Holman St	Covington	41011	Kenton County	Covington Independent	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 292-5812	333	26	12.8	82.3%	81 (24.3%)	70 (21.0%)	139 (41.7%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (12.3%)	40.4	419^th of 684 public elementary schools	38.7%		52.9	312^th of 685 public elementary schools	54.5%	107	35.0	38.0	55.0					48.0	45.0	47.0								16.0			37.0			43.0			$18,845	$2,104	$15,159
Latonia Elementary School	Public	K-5	39th & Huntington Avenue	Covington	41015	Kenton County	Covington Independent	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 292-5825	233	19	12.2	82.8%	143 (61.4%)	27 (11.6%)	28 (12.0%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (14.2%)	41.6	412^th of 684 public elementary schools	39.8%		47.7	354^th of 685 public elementary schools	48.3%	58	47.0	30.0	50.0					53.0	46.0	47.0					38.0			15.0			35.0			41.0			$20,876	$2,396	$17,054
Ninth District Elementary	Public	K-5	2800 Indiana Ave	Covington	41015	Kenton County	Covington Independent	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 292-5823	324	29	11.1	83.6%	118 (36.4%)	71 (21.9%)	70 (21.6%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	63 (19.4%)	30.1	496^th of 684 public elementary schools	27.5%		16.5	594^th of 685 public elementary schools	13.3%	98	32.0	29.0	32.0					55.0	34.0	39.0					32.0						41.0			30.0			$19,208	$2,317	$15,550
Glenn O Swing Elementary	Public	K-5	501 W 19th St	Covington	41014	Kenton County	Covington Independent	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 292-5821	392	33	11.8	78.3%	145 (37.0%)	88 (22.4%)	108 (27.6%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	47 (12.0%)	47.8	358^th of 684 public elementary schools	47.7%		66.8	201^st of 685 public elementary schools	70.7%	157	34.0	57.0	40.0					53.0	47.0	57.0					47.0			10.0			49.0			28.0			$19,857	$1,985	$15,166
Sixth District Elementary School	Public	K-5	19th and Maryland	Covington	41014	Kenton County	Covington Independent	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 292-5819	454	34	13.3	87.7%	107 (23.6%)	88 (19.4%)	195 (43.0%)	9 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	55 (12.1%)	20.2	575^th of 684 public elementary schools	15.9%		18.2	583^rd of 685 public elementary schools	14.9%	8	25.0	30.0	21.0					38.0	43.0	41.0					33.0			20.0			25.0			23.0			$18,175	$2,096	$14,951
Covington Adult High School	Public, Virtual	9-12	212 Levassor Drive	Covington	41014	Kenton County	Covington Independent	No	No	Yes	No	(859) 292-5864	7	2	3.5	—	2 (28.6%)	2 (28.6%)	3 (42.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Transformational Learning Center	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	200 Home Road	Covington	41011	Kenton County	Covington Independent	No	No	Yes	No	(859) 581-7512	43	8	5.3	95.3%	18 (41.9%)	15 (34.9%)	7 (16.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (7.0%)								(n/a)
Holmes Middle School	Public	6-8	2500 Madison Avenue	Covington	41014	Kenton County	Covington Independent	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 655-9545	631	43	14.6	83.5%	198 (31.4%)	183 (29.0%)	189 (30.0%)	7 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	54 (8.6%)	8.7	312^th of 326 public middle schools	4.3%		11.6	301^st of 320 public middle schools	5.9%	11				20.0	17.0	20.0					36.0	33.0	19.0			15.0			27.0			20.0			25.0		$18,632	$2,145	$15,000
Holmes High School	Public	9-12	25th and Madison Ave	Covington	41014	Kenton County	Covington Independent	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 655-9545	855	64	13.3	83.6%	297 (34.7%)	184 (21.5%)	271 (31.7%)	10 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.4%)	90 (10.5%)	9.6	234^th of 262 public high schools	10.7%		14	222^nd of 254 public high schools	12.6%	12							16.0							23.0			15.0			29.0			19.0			17.0	$34,631	$2,424	$18,516
Chapman Vocational Education Center	Public	9-12	25th and Madison Streets	Covington	41014	Kenton County	Covington Independent	No	No	No	No	(859) 291-5911	0	0		—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Ft Wright Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	501 Farrell Dr	Covington	41011	Kenton County	Kenton County	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 331-7742	469	38	12.3	56.1%	309 (65.9%)	40 (8.5%)	45 (9.6%)	5 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	70 (14.9%)	81.7	92^nd of 684 public elementary schools	86.5%		85.9	68^th of 685 public elementary schools	90.1%	24	58.0	61.0	66.0					63.0	61.0	68.0					57.0			40.0			54.0			71.0
Ryland Heights Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3845 Stewart Dr	Covington	41015	Kenton County	Kenton County	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 356-9270	443	29	15.2	40.9%	385 (86.9%)	4 (0.9%)	27 (6.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (6.1%)	83.7	71^st of 684 public elementary schools	89.6%		79.7	107^th of 685 public elementary schools	84.4%	36	43.0	71.0	68.0					57.0	77.0	69.0					55.0			60.0			58.0			67.0
Taylor Mill Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	5907 Taylor Mill Rd	Covington	41015	Kenton County	Kenton County	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 356-2566	508	32	15.6	44.3%	446 (87.8%)	9 (1.8%)	20 (3.9%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (6.1%)	81.2	99^th of 684 public elementary schools	85.5%		84.5	75^th of 685 public elementary schools	89.1%	24	49.0	62.0	66.0					57.0	69.0	70.0					58.0			47.0			55.0			64.0

Cities Near Covington

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Ft Wright	1.44 mi	1
Fort Mitchell	1.93 mi	4	9^th
Ludlow	2.01 mi	2	175^th
Newport	2.3 mi	6	313^th
Southgate	3.01 mi	1	101^st

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.