River City Science Academy says its Mandarin campus ranks among Florida's top 50 middle schools in U.S. News & World Report's 2027 rankings.

The K-8 charter school at 10911 Old St. Augustine Rd. placed No. 46 out of 1,201 ranked middle schools statewide, according to the U.S. News profile for the campus. It also ranked No. 239 among 2,268 Florida elementary schools.

The charter school network announced the recognition on its Rocket Link blog Oct. 27. The announcement also recognized RCSA Intracoastal as a leading elementary school in Duval County and RCSA Middle-High among Florida's top 50 high schools. RCSA Middle-High ranked No. 45 in Florida and No. 602 nationally, according to its U.S. News profile.

RCSA Mandarin's test scores drove the ranking. According to U.S. News, 85% of students scored at or above the proficient level in math and 78% in reading. Those figures far exceed Duval County averages of 48% in math and 43% in reading. They also top statewide averages of 56% in math and 51% in reading. U.S. News rated the school "Well Above Expectations" in both subjects at both the elementary and middle school levels.

The school enrolls 870 students and employs 57 full-time teachers, 93% of whom are certified, according to U.S. News. Its 15-to-1 student-teacher ratio is lower than the district average. About 35% of students are economically disadvantaged.

The network described RCSA Mandarin as Duval County's top "non-selective" middle school. That description is the network's own characterization; U.S. News does not publish a separate "non-selective" ranking category. Duval County has 59 ranked middle schools in the U.S. News system.

U.S. News based its 2027 elementary and middle school rankings on students' performance on state math and reading assessments, according to the publication's methodology page. Half the formula measured raw proficiency scores. The other half factored in socioeconomic characteristics, weighting how well schools educate students across income levels. The test score data came from the 2023-2024 school year.

RCSA Mandarin is one of six tuition-free, STEM-focused campuses the River City Science Academy network operates across Jacksonville. The school serves grades K-8.