Banyan Elementary in Newbury Park earned the top spot among Conejo Valley schools in the 2027 U.S. News & World Report elementary school rankings, released Oct. 20.

The K-5 school on Knollwood Drive scored 94.1 out of 100 and ranked No. 350 out of 5,920 California elementary schools. Lang Ranch Elementary in Thousand Oaks placed second in the district at No. 482 statewide, scoring 91.87.

Banyan's students outperformed both the district and the state on standardized tests, according to the U.S. News profile. Seventy-four percent scored at or above the proficient level in math, and 79% reached that mark in reading. Across Conejo Valley Unified School District (CVUSD), those figures were 57% in math and 63% in reading. Statewide, 38% of students hit the math benchmark and 44% met it in reading.

The school enrolls 416 students and has 22 full-time teachers. Its 19:1 student-teacher ratio is lower than the district average, according to U.S. News.

Banyan also earned recognition as a 2025 California Distinguished School for what the state program calls Exceptional Student Performance, according to the school's website.

Principal Allison Kennedy, who holds a master's degree in elementary education from Pepperdine University, describes Banyan on the school's website as "a proud neighborhood school with a tradition of academic excellence, parent involvement, and joyful learning." No statement from Kennedy or CVUSD Superintendent Dr. Mark McLaughlin specifically addressing the rankings was available as of publication.

At Lang Ranch, 81% of students scored at or above proficiency in reading and 71% did so in math, according to the school's U.S. News profile. The Thousand Oaks campus enrolls 723 students with a 22:1 student-teacher ratio.

The rankings evaluate student performance in math and reading alongside demographic context, according to a U.S. News press release. The report covers about 46,000 public elementary schools nationally. Student-teacher ratios break ties in overall scores. The assessment data comes from the 2023-2024 school year.

CVUSD's 27 schools serve 15,724 students. The district spends $16,730 per student annually, according to the U.S. News district profile.

California's top 10 elementary schools, per U.S. News:

  1. Buckeye Union Mandarin Immersion Charter, El Dorado Hills
  2. Cold Spring Elementary, Santa Barbara
  3. Murdock-Portal Elementary, San Jose
  4. William Faria Elementary, Cupertino
  5. North Star Academy, Redwood City
  6. Herbert Hoover Elementary, Palo Alto
  7. Covington Elementary, Los Altos
  8. Bullis Charter, Los Altos
  9. Elkhorn, Stockton
  10. Jack L. Weaver Elementary, Los Alamitos