Stafford STEM Magnet Academy placed No. 15 among Texas middle schools and No. 19 among Texas elementary schools in U.S. News & World Report's 2027 Best Elementary and Middle Schools rankings.

The Stafford Municipal School District (SMSD) announced the dual ranking on its social media accounts. The magnet school, which enrolls students in grades 1 through 12 according to its admissions page, serves 345 students and holds an A rating from the Texas Education Agency (TEA) with all distinction designations earned. Principal Ginny Liang and Assistant Principal Dr. Karen Grant lead the campus.

The rankings place the Stafford campus among 12 Houston-area elementary and middle schools that landed in the state's top 25, CultureMap Houston reported. The academy ranked No. 12 among Texas middle schools and No. 16 among Texas elementary schools last year, meaning both positions slipped slightly in the new cycle. Fort Bend ISD's Fort Settlement Middle School also appeared on the middle school list at No. 13.

U.S. News analyzed more than 70,000 public schools using U.S. Department of Education data, according to CultureMap Houston. Schools were scored on math and reading proficiency while accounting for student background and absolute performance on state assessments. Ties were broken by student-teacher ratio.

"By incorporating direct state data across all proficiency levels, the 2027 rankings offer a richer, more complete picture of how elementary and middle schools are driving student growth," Eric Brooks, U.S. News director of education data analysis, said in a statement.

According to Public School Review, 95% of the school's students achieved math proficiency, compared with the 44% Texas state average. Reading proficiency stood at 85% to 89%, more than 30 percentage points above the state's 51% average. Those figures place the school in the top 1% of all 8,096 Texas schools reviewed.

The campus is part of Texas's only municipal school district. It is nationally STEM certified and prepares students through project-based learning, robotics, drone competitions and Advanced Placement courses.

Families interested in enrollment can find information on the school's admissions page.