Best Middle Schools in Nebraska (2025-26)

Ranked middle schools

127

Listed, not ranked

Every ranked middle school in Nebraska, ordered by SchoolGrade. A grade rewards actual test performance against the projection for each school's student context, so a B in a high-poverty school can outrank an A- elsewhere on impact. Click a column heading to sort, or filter by school, city or district.

Nebraska rankings: High Schools · Middle Schools · Elementary Schools

Nebraska middle schools ranked

Rank	Grade	School	City	District	Actual	Projected	Impact	Students
#1	A+	Elkhorn Valley View Middle School	Elkhorn	Elkhorn Public Schools	90%	75%	Exceeds Expectations	604
#2	A+	Elkhorn Ridge Middle School	Omaha	Elkhorn Public Schools	89%	76%	Meets Expectations	545
#3	A+	Bennington Middle School	Bennington	Bennington Public Schools	87%	68%	Exceeds Expectations	410
#4	A+	Elkhorn Grandview Middle School	Omaha	Elkhorn Public Schools	87%	75%	Meets Expectations	518
#5	A+	Bennington South Middle School	Bennington		85%	72%	Meets Expectations	510
#6	A+	Moore Middle School	Lincoln	Lincoln Public Schools	84%	72%	Meets Expectations	738
#7	A+	Russell Middle School	Omaha	Millard Public Schools	84%	73%	Meets Expectations	779
#8	A+	Seward Middle School	Seward	Seward Public Schools	84%	72%	Meets Expectations	422
#9	A+	Elkhorn North Ridge Middle School	Omaha	Elkhorn Public Schools	83%	76%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	313
#10	A+	Gerald Otte Blair Middle Sch	Blair	Blair Community Schools	83%	72%	Meets Expectations	506
#11	A	Elkhorn Middle School	Elkhorn	Elkhorn Public Schools	83%	73%	Meets Expectations	607
#12	A	Liberty Middle School	Papillion	Papillion La Vista Community Schools	83%	70%	Meets Expectations	499
#13	A	Aspen Creek Middle School	Omaha	Gretna Public Schools	82%	65%	Exceeds Expectations	777
#14	A	Wahoo Middle School	Wahoo	Wahoo Public Schools	82%	69%	Meets Expectations	235
#15	A	Beadle Middle School	Omaha	Millard Public Schools	81%	74%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	1,012
#16	A	Norris Middle School	Firth	Norris School Dist 160	81%	67%	Meets Expectations	595
#17	A	Scott Middle School	Lincoln	Lincoln Public Schools	81%	70%	Meets Expectations	1,136
#18	A	Ashland Greenwood Middle School	Ashland	Ashland-Greenwood Public Schs	80%	66%	Meets Expectations	238
#19	A	Lux Middle School	Lincoln	Lincoln Public Schools	80%	72%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	791
#20	A	West Point Beemer Middle School	West Point	West Point Public Schools	79%	58%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	187
#21	A-	Lewis And Clark Middle School	Bellevue	Bellevue Public Schools	79%	68%	Meets Expectations	512
#22	A-	North Bend Central Middle School	North Bend	North Bend Central Public Schs	79%	69%	Meets Expectations	89
#23	A-	Boone Central Middle School	Albion	Boone Central Schools	78%	55%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	167
#24	A-	Centennial Middle School	Utica		78%	36%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	100
#25	A-	Central City Middle School	Central City	Central City Public Schools	78%	62%	Exceeds Expectations	228
#26	A-	Gretna Middle School	Gretna	Gretna Public Schools	78%	75%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	728
#27	A-	Kiewit Middle School	Omaha	Millard Public Schools	78%	70%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	947
#28	A-	Sidney Middle School	Sidney	Sidney Public Schools	78%	48%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	187
#29	A-	Valentine Middle School	Valentine	Valentine Community Schools	78%	51%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	160
#30	A-	Waverly Middle School	Waverly	Waverly School District 145	77%	51%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	532
#31	B+	Mc Cook Junior High School	Mc Cook	Mc Cook Public Schools	77%	60%	Exceeds Expectations	307
#32	B+	Millard North Middle School	Omaha	Millard Public Schools	77%	66%	Meets Expectations	790
#33	B+	Wood River Rural Middle School	Wood River	Wood River Rural Schools	77%	52%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	126
#34	B+	Ainsworth Middle School	Ainsworth	Ainsworth Community Schools	76%	51%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	116
#35	B+	Louisville Middle School	Louisville	Louisville Public Schools	76%	69%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	115
#36	B+	Mullen Middle School	Mullen	Mullen Public Schools	76%	56%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	36
#37	B+	Horizon Middle School	Kearney	Kearney Public Schools	75%	51%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	619
#38	B+	Westside Middle School	Omaha	Westside Community Schools	75%	62%	Meets Expectations	979
#39	B+	York Middle School	York	York Public Schools	75%	59%	Exceeds Expectations	315
#40	B	Douglas Co West Middle School	Valley	Douglas Co West Community Schs	74%	66%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	240
#41	B	Papillion Middle School	Papillion	Papillion La Vista Community Schools	74%	62%	Meets Expectations	659
#42	B	Platteview Central JR High School	Springfield	Springfield Platteview Community Schools	74%	76%	Underperforms Expectations	181
#43	B	Auburn Middle School	Auburn	Auburn Public Schools	73%	52%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	190
#44	B	Aurora Middle School	Aurora	Aurora Public Schools	73%	67%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	269
#45	B	Broken Bow Middle School	Broken Bow	Broken Bow Public Schools	73%	35%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	175
#46	B	Cody Kilgore Middle School	Cody	Cody-Kilgore Public Schs	73%	43%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	35
#47	B	Wauneta Palisade Middle School	Wauneta	Wauneta-Palisade Public Schs	73%	31%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	52
#48	B	Holdrege Middle School	Holdrege	Holdrege Public Schools	72%	60%	Meets Expectations	306
#49	B	Riverside Middle School	Spalding	Riverside Public Schools	72%	46%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	48
#50	B-	Logan Fontenelle Middle School	Bellevue	Bellevue Public Schools	71%	52%	Exceeds Expectations	493
#51	B-	Pound Middle School	Lincoln	Lincoln Public Schools	71%	62%	Meets Expectations	727
#52	B-	Sunrise Middle School	Kearney	Kearney Public Schools	71%	46%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	577
#53	B-	Boyd County Middle School Spencer	Spencer	Boyd County Schools	70%	48%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	105
#54	B-	Fillmore Central Middle School	Fairmont	Fillmore Central Public Schs	70%	63%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	160
#55	B-	Intermediate School At Jrsr High School	Raymond	Raymond Central Public Schools	70%	65%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	48
#56	B-	La Vista Middle School	La Vista	Papillion La Vista Community Schools	70%	49%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	716
#57	B-	Emerson Hubbard Middle School	Emerson	Emerson-Hubbard Public Schools	69%	40%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	66
#58	B-	Harry Andersen Middle School	Omaha	Millard Public Schools	69%	61%	Meets Expectations	911
#59	B-	Laurel Concord Coleridge Middle School	Coleridge	Laurel-Concord-Coleridge School	69%	62%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	119
#60	C+	Cambridge Middle School	Cambridge	Cambridge Public Schools	68%	59%	Meets Expectations	72
#61	C+	Cross County Middle School	Stromsburg	Cross County Community Schools	68%	62%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	75
#62	C+	Lakeview Junior High School	Columbus	Lakeview Community Schools	68%	58%	Meets Expectations	147
#63	C+	Plattsmouth Middle School	Plattsmouth	Plattsmouth Community Schools	68%	66%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	395
#64	C+	Banner County Middle School	Harrisburg	Banner County Public Schools	67%	46%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	32
#65	C+	Chadron Middle School	Chadron	Chadron Public Schools	67%	50%	Exceeds Expectations	288
#66	C+	Cozad Middle School	Cozad	Cozad Community Schools	67%	50%	Exceeds Expectations	197
#67	C+	Wayne Junior High School	Wayne	Wayne Community Schools	67%	62%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	158
#68	C	Bruning Davenport Middle Sch	Davenport	Bruning-Davenport Unified Sys	66%	51%	Meets Expectations	49
#69	C	Htrs Middle School	Humboldt	Humboldt Table Rock Steinauer	66%	53%	Meets Expectations	62
#70	C	Irving Middle School	Lincoln	Lincoln Public Schools	66%	54%	Meets Expectations	890
#71	C	Mickle Middle School	Lincoln	Lincoln Public Schools	66%	59%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	694
#72	C	Crete Middle School	Crete	Crete Public Schools	65%	43%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	477
#73	C	Osceola Middle School	Osceola	Osceola Public Schools	65%	41%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	57
#74	C	Bluffs Middle School	Scottsbluff	Scottsbluff Public Schools	64%	44%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	785
#75	C	Falls City Middle School	Falls City	Falls City Public Schools	64%	53%	Meets Expectations	174
#76	C	Johnson Co Central Middle Sch	Cook	Johnson Co Central Public Schs	64%	39%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	119
#77	C	Beatrice Middle School	Beatrice	Beatrice Public Schools	63%	61%	Underperforms Expectations	421
#78	C-	Gordon Rushville Middle School	Rushville	Gordon-Rushville Public Schs	63%	45%	Exceeds Expectations	101
#79	C-	Exeter Milligan Middle School	Exeter	Exeter-Milligan Public Schools	62%	39%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	36
#80	C-	Schoo Middle School	Lincoln	Lincoln Public Schools	62%	57%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	917
#81	C-	Hay Springs Middle School	Hay Springs	Hay Springs Public Schools	61%	57%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	42
#82	C-	Millard Central Middle School	Omaha	Millard Public Schools	61%	52%	Meets Expectations	825
#83	C-	Westridge Middle School	Grand Island	Grand Island Public Schools	61%	46%	Exceeds Expectations	599
#84	C-	Bellevue Mission Middle School	Bellevue	Bellevue Public Schools	60%	51%	Meets Expectations	391
#85	C-	Wynot Middle School	Wynot	Wynot Public Schools	60%	59%	Underperforms Expectations	49
#86	C-	Gering Junior High School	Gering	Gering Public Schools	59%	47%	Meets Expectations	414
#87	C-	Nebraska City Middle School	Nebraska City	Nebraska City Public Schools	59%	51%	Meets Expectations	326
#88	D+	Adams Middle School	North Platte	North Platte Public Schools	59%	43%	Exceeds Expectations	566
#89	D+	Alliance Middle School	Alliance	Alliance Public Schools	59%	42%	Exceeds Expectations	286
#90	D+	Palmyra Middle School	Palmyra		59%	54%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	148
#91	D+	Hastings Middle School	Hastings	Hastings Public Schools	58%	51%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	780
#92	D+	Lefler Middle School	Lincoln	Lincoln Public Schools	58%	46%	Meets Expectations	613
#93	D+	Lexington Middle School	Lexington	Lexington Public Schools	58%	37%	Greatly Exceeds Expectations	685
#94	D+	Norfolk JR High School	Norfolk	Norfolk Public Schools	58%	50%	Meets Expectations	641
#95	D+	Ralston Middle School	Ralston	Ralston Public Schools	58%	40%	Exceeds Expectations	464
#96	D+	Fremont Middle School	Fremont	Fremont Public Schools	57%	40%	Exceeds Expectations	744
#97	D+	Wilber Clatonia Middle School	Wilber	Wilber-Clatonia Public Schools	57%	50%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	143
#98	D	Madison Middle School	North Platte	North Platte Public Schools	56%	37%	Exceeds Expectations	265
#98	D	Madison Middle School	Madison	Madison Public Schools	56%	47%	Meets Expectations	106
#100	D	Dawes Middle School	Lincoln	Lincoln Public Schools	55%	41%	Meets Expectations	405
#101	D	Shelby Rising City Middle School	Shelby	Shelby - Rising City Public Schools	55%	51%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	89
#102	D	Alice Buffett Magnet Middle School	Omaha	Omaha Public Schools	54%	53%	Underperforms Expectations	1,124
#103	D	Park Middle School	Lincoln	Lincoln Public Schools	54%	41%	Meets Expectations	834
#104	D	South Sioux City Middle School	So Sioux City	So Sioux City Community Schs	52%	45%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	773
#105	D	Weeping Water Middle School	Weeping Water	Weeping Water Public Schools	51%	48%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	60
#106	D	Columbus Middle School	Columbus	Columbus Public Schools	50%	46%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	1,174
#107	D-	Walnut Middle School	Grand Island	Grand Island Public Schools	48%	34%	Meets Expectations	853
#108	D-	Barr Middle School	Grand Island	Grand Island Public Schools	47%	29%	Exceeds Expectations	718
#109	D-	Goodrich Middle School	Lincoln	Lincoln Public Schools	47%	36%	Meets Expectations	877
#110	D-	Franklin Middle School	Franklin		46%	30%	Exceeds Expectations	71
#111	D-	Schuyler Middle School	Schuyler	Schuyler Community Schools	46%	34%	Meets Expectations	401
#112	D-	Alfonza W Davis Middle School	Omaha	Omaha Public Schools	45%	47%	Underperforms Expectations	759
#113	D-	Beveridge Magnet Middle School	Omaha	Omaha Public Schools	45%	38%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	816
#114	D-	Lewis And Clark Middle School	Omaha	Omaha Public Schools	45%	42%	Doesn't Meet Expectations	860
#115	D-	Bryan Middle School	Omaha	Omaha Public Schools	41%	27%	Meets Expectations	866
#116	D-	R M Marrs Magnet Middle School	Omaha	Omaha Public Schools	39%	22%	Exceeds Expectations	1,066
#117	F	Superior Middle School	Superior	Superior Public Schools	39%	43%	Underperforms Expectations	84
#118	F	Harvard Middle School	Harvard	Harvard Public Schools	38%	56%	Underperforms Expectations	54
#119	F	King Sciencetech Magnet Middle School	Omaha	Omaha Public Schools	36%	22%	Meets Expectations	667
#120	F	Nathan Hale Magnet Middle School	Omaha	Omaha Public Schools	36%	39%	Underperforms Expectations	620
#121	F	Culler Middle School	Lincoln	Lincoln Public Schools	33%	36%	Underperforms Expectations	703
#122	F	Morton Magnet Middle School	Omaha	Omaha Public Schools	32%	41%	Underperforms Expectations	724
#123	F	Isanti Middle School	Niobrara	Isanti Community School	30%	13%	Exceeds Expectations	44
#124	F	Mc Millan Magnet Middle School	Omaha	Omaha Public Schools	27%	28%	Underperforms Expectations	751
#125	F	Monroe Middle School	Omaha	Omaha Public Schools	27%	27%	Underperforms Expectations	769
#126	F	Norris Middle School	Omaha	Omaha Public Schools	27%	27%	Underperforms Expectations	1,187
#127	F	Umo N Ho N Nation Middle Sch	Macy	Umo N Ho N Nation Public Schs	18%	8%	Meets Expectations	113

How Nebraska's middle schools compare

A: 30B: 29C: 28D: 29F: 11

46% of the 127 ranked middle schools in Nebraska earn an A or B (30 A grades, 29 B, 28 C, 29 D, 11 F), against 46% of middle schools nationwide. 88 schools meet or beat the proficiency projected from their student context (69% here, 70% nationally), and 46 exceed it. On average 65% of tested students meet the state bar against a projected 52% (national averages: 45% actual, 38% projected).

The biggest overperformers, by actual proficiency above projection: Centennial Middle School (78% against 36%, A-), Wauneta Palisade Middle School (73% against 31%, B), Broken Bow Middle School (73% against 35%, B), Sidney Middle School (78% against 48%, A-), Cody Kilgore Middle School (73% against 43%, B).

Districts with the most schools in the top quarter (the top 32): Elkhorn Public Schools (5), Millard Public Schools (4), Lincoln Public Schools (3), Gretna Public Schools (2).

Cities with the most ranked middle schools: Omaha (23, 10 at A or B), Lincoln (12, 4 at A or B), Bellevue (3, 2 at A or B), Grand Island (3, 0 at A or B).

The largest ranked middle schools: Norris Middle School (1,187 students, F, #126), Columbus Middle School (1,174 students, D, #106), Scott Middle School (1,136 students, A, #17).

Middle schools in Nebraska that are not ranked

2 graded middle schools are listed here rather than ranked, each for the reason given. Every one has its own page with its full SchoolGrade report.

Not yet graded (2)

Our source data has no school-level proficiency results for these schools, so they carry no SchoolGrade yet.

Lawrence Nelson Middle School, Nelson
Sandy Creek Middle School, Fairfield

About this ranking

Scope: every public middle school in Nebraska.
Order: SchoolGrade, then actual proficiency, then name; schools with the same grade and score share a rank.
Ranked: regular public schools that NCES lists as open, not fully online, with at least 30 students. Others are listed with the reason.
Tags: Magnet and Charter from the NCES school directory; K-12 marks schools serving every grade that are ranked with the middle schools.
Grades are the 2025-26 SchoolGrade model. How SchoolGrade works

Questions about middle schools in Nebraska

What is the best middle school in Nebraska?

Elkhorn Valley View Middle School in Elkhorn ranks first among the 127 ranked middle schools in Nebraska with a SchoolGrade of A+, 90% of tested students meeting the state bar against a projected 75%.

How are middle schools in Nebraska ranked?

By SchoolGrade, the 2025-26 model that scores each school's actual test proficiency against the level projected for its student context, then by actual proficiency to break ties. Regular public schools that are open, not fully online and have at least 30 students are ranked; the rest are listed below the table with the reason.

How many middle schools does Nebraska have?

SchoolGrade grades 129 public middle schools in Nebraska; 127 are ranked here and 2 are listed as not ranked.