Best Public Schools in Zip Code 57026

ZIP code 57026 has four schools serving students from prekindergarten through grade 12: Elkton Elementary (PK–6), Elkton Junior High (grades 7–8), Newdale Colony Elementary (K–8), and Elkton High School (grades 9–12). In 2025–26, Newdale led the three schools with reported all-grade Smarter Balanced scores in ELA, while all three were below the state in all-grade math. The clearest concern is math in particular grades: sixth-grade math at Elkton Elementary was 8% proficient versus 42% statewide, and eighth-grade math at Elkton Junior High was 17% versus 43%.

Newdale stands out for all-grade ELA, with 57% proficient—20 percentage points above Elkton Junior High’s 37% and 8 points above the state’s 49%. Elkton Junior High was lowest among the three Smarter Balanced schools in both all-grade ELA and math; its math result was 26%, compared with 34% at Elkton Elementary and 36% at Newdale. Elkton Elementary has a grade-level bright spot: its third graders reached 55% in ELA and 59% in math, both above state results. Elkton High’s 11th graders also had strong results relative to the state, with 66% proficient in ELA and science and 45% in math—17, 21, and 11 points higher, respectively. Those ACT results should not be compared directly with the other schools’ results.

All three Smarter Balanced schools improved in all-grade ELA from 2024–25 to 2025–26: gains were 5 points at Elkton Elementary, 11 at Elkton Junior High, and 13 at Newdale. Math was less consistent: Elkton Junior High rose 10 points, while Elkton Elementary and Newdale each fell about 8 points; the three-school average declined 2 points. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking for Elkton High rose from the 14th percentile in 2024–25 to the 92nd in 2025–26, but that ranking change does not establish a comparable test-score trend. Other context includes 2024–25 free/reduced lunch eligible figures of 43% at Elkton Elementary, 34% at Elkton Junior High, and 32% at Elkton High; Newdale’s figure was 13% in 2022–23. Newdale had 29 students per teacher, compared with 10 at Elkton Elementary. These figures are context, not explanations for performance, and schools cover different grades.