Blue Ribbon Schools Program

The Blue Ribbon Schools Program was established in 1982 to honor schools which have achieved high levels of performance or significant improvements with emphasis on schools serving disadvantaged students.

The Blue Ribbon award is considered the highest honor an American school can achieve. The first two years of the program only secondary schools were recognized, from 1983-2002 the program honored secondary and elementary schools in alternating years.

Public School Nomination Process Chief State School Officers (CSSO) nominate public schools annually, usually between November and December. All states, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), and the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), may participate. USED determines the number of nominations per state based on the number of K-12 students and schools in each state.

Public School Criteria for Nominations There are annual nomination guidelines that include eligibility requirements and nomination criteria. At least one-third of the public schools must enroll a high percentage of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

1. Enrollment and Assessments Participation and Data: Schools must enroll at least 100 students, have a high percentage of all students participate in state assessments, and have assessment data for at least 10 students in each tested grade for both reading (or English language arts) and mathematics.
2. Grade Configuration and History: Schools must include one or more of grades K-12 and be in existence for five full years. Each tested grade must have been part of the school for the past three years.
3. Previous Awardee: Nominated schools have not received the NBRS award in the past five years (2019-2023).
4. State Performance Requirements: Schools must meet the state’s accountability performance targets in reading (or English language arts) and mathematics and other academic indicators (i.e., attendance rate and high school graduation rate).
5. National Blue Ribbon School Performance Criteria and Award Categories

Exemplary High Performing Schools are in the top 15% of all public schools based on student performance on state assessments in English and mathematics; in the top 40% of all schools based on performance of student subgroups on these assessments, and, for high schools, in the top 15% based on graduation rates.

Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools are in the top 15% of all public schools based on advances in closing one or more student subgroup achievement gaps in English and mathematics state assessments over the past 2-4 years; in the top 40% of all schools based on the performance of all subgroup students on these assessments, and, for high schools, in the top 40% for each subgroup based on graduation rates.

Blue Ribbon Schools by Year(webpage)