George Washington Carver Middle School in Coconut Grove and Henry S. West Laboratory School in Coral Gables both landed in the top 25 on the 2027 U.S. News & World Report Best Middle Schools rankings, released Oct. 20.

Carver placed No. 21 and West Lab placed No. 10 out of 1,201 ranked middle schools statewide, according to Patch's analysis of the new list. Pine View School in Osprey topped Florida's rankings.

The middle school list is separate from the high school rankings U.S. News published earlier this fall. This round evaluated more than 24,000 public middle schools nationwide.

What the rankings measure

U.S. News based the 2027 edition on data collected from state education agencies by RTI International, a research nonprofit, alongside data from the U.S. Department of Education. In a press release, the outlet said the methodology evaluates student performance in math and reading alongside student demographic context. Student-teacher ratios break ties.

For the 2027 edition, U.S. News expanded its data sources to include information collected directly from state education agencies across all proficiency levels, while continuing to account for student background. Eric Brooks, U.S. News director of education data analysis, said the updated methodology gives families and educators a clearer picture of academic achievement at the elementary and middle school level.

West Lab by the numbers

West Lab, a K-8 public school at 5300 Carillo St. in Coral Gables, enrolls 373 students and has a 14-to-1 student-teacher ratio, according to its U.S. News profile. All 26 full-time teachers are certified.

The school's proficiency numbers stand out. Ninety-four percent of West Lab students scored at or above the proficient level in math, and 93% did so in reading. Statewide, those figures are 56% and 51%. West Lab also ranked No. 9 among Florida elementary schools.

Carver's magnet draws families across the county

Carver Middle, at 4901 Lincoln Dr. on the Coconut Grove-Coral Gables border, runs a world languages magnet program that offers Advanced Placement testing in Spanish, German, Italian and French, according to the school's website. Some students sit for college-level AP exams by eighth grade, the Coconut Grove Spotlight reported in October.

The school traces its roots to 1899, when D.A. Dorsey founded a private school for Coconut Grove's Black children. It became a magnet school in international education during the 1987-88 school year.

Enrollment, proficiency scores and demographic data for Carver's U.S. News profile were not available for this article. The full rankings are on the U.S. News website.