Eligibility for Public Schools: The Department invites Chief State School Officers (CSSOs) for all states and the District of Columbia, the territories, the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), and the Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) to nominate schools for recognition as National Blue Ribbon Schools. In submitting nominated schools, the CSSO of each state and these entities must certify that the nominated schools meet the minimum requirements established by the Department for nomination. As described below, states and nominating entities must rely on their accountability and assessment systems to identify schools for submission to the Secretary.

At least one-third of the public schools nominated by each state must be schools with a high percentage of students from disadvantaged backgrounds.  What constitutes "disadvantaged backgrounds" is defined by the CSSO of each state.  The definition may include economically disadvantaged students, that is, students who are eligible for free and reduced-price school meals; students with disabilities; students who are English language learners; migrant students; and/or students receiving services under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015. Each state may set the percentage that defines "high percentage." The Department also recommends nominated schools reflect the demographic and geographic diversity of the state's school-age population.

Each state's nomination criteria must pertain equally to all public schools nominated by the state. The nomination criteria for high schools include additional performance criteria based on graduation rates and optional measures of college and career readiness, but these criteria must pertain equally to all nominated high schools.  The Department also recommends that nominated schools reasonably reflect the demographic and geographic diversity of the state's public schools.

Performance Award Criteria for Public Schools: In order to be eligible for nomination, a school must meet several criteria based on the performance of its students on state assessments in reading (or English language arts) and mathematics or a composite of performance on these assessments with other measures of student performance (e.g., student growth on state assessments, performance on state assessments in other subjects, graduation rates, or other indicators in the state's accountability system).

A school may be nominated in either of two performance award categories:  Exemplary High Performing or Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing.  The student performance criteria that a school must meet in order to be nominated in each of these two categories are described below:

1. Exemplary High Performing Schools."High performing" is defined by the CSSO of each state, but at a minimum means that the school meets the performance criteria summarized in the following table:

1. 1a. Whole School Performance. All schools are ranked^[1] based on the performance of all students in the school on the most recently administered state assessments in reading (or English language arts) and mathematics.^[2] The most recently administered assessments may be from the 2020-2021 school year, the 2018-2019 school year, or both. Results for 2020-2021 may be used only if each school had a high participation rate. Basing results on assessments from both years could, for example, be an average of school performance from both years, or using the 2018-2019 results when the 2020-2021 results are missing or are based on a low participation rate. The state may rank schools on these two subjects separately or rank schools on the two subjects combined (e.g., sum or average). The state may also combine performance on these assessments with other measures of student performance (e.g., student growth on state assessments, performance on state assessments in other subjects, graduation rates, or other indicators in the state's accountability system) and rank the schools on the resulting composite score/index. Schools in the top 15 percent of each ranking for reading/ELA and mathematics (separately, combined, or as part of a composite score/index) meet the threshold for this criterion.
2. 1b. School Subgroup Performance. For each of the state's subgroups,^[3] all schools are ranked based on the performance of the students in that subgroup on the most recently administered state assessments in reading (or English language arts) and mathematics (separately, combined, or as part of a composite score/index). The most recently administered assessments must be the same as those used for ranking whole school performance in 1a (the 2020-2021 school year, the 2018-2019 school year, or both). Results for 2020-2021 may be used only if each school had a high participation rate for each sufficiently large subgroup.^[4] Schools in the top 40 percent of each ranking for each of their sufficiently large subgroups meet the threshold for this criterion.
3. 1c. High School Graduation Rate and CCR Measure. All high schools are ranked based on the state's most recent graduation rate (2020-2021, 2019-2020, or 2018-2019) and, optionally, on the most recent measure of CCR (separately, combined, or as part of a composite score/index).^[5] High schools in the top 15 percent of each ranking meet the threshold for this criterion.

2. Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools: "Achievement gap closing" is defined by the CSSO of each state, but at a minimum means that the school meets the performance criteria summarized in the following table:

1. 2a. School Subgroup Improvement. For each of the state's subgroups,^[6] all schools are ranked based on the increase in the performance of that subgroup on the most recently administered state assessments (2020-2021, 2018-2019, or both) in reading (or English language arts) and mathematics (separately, combined, or as part of a composite score/index), comparing the results for the most recent school year in which the state assessments were administered to the results for the school year 2-4 years before. Results for 2020-2021 may be used only if each school had a high participation rate for each sufficiently large subgroup. Schools in the top 15 percent of each ranking for at least one of their sufficiently large subgroups^[7] meet the threshold for this criterion.
2. 2b. School Subgroup Performance. For each of the state's subgroups, all schools are ranked based on the performance of the students in that subgroup on the most recently administered state assessments in reading (or English language arts) and mathematics (separately, combined, or as part of a composite score/index). The most recently administered assessments must be the same as those used for ranking subgroup performance in 2a (the 2020-2021 school year, the 2018-2019 school year, or both). Results for 2020-2021 may be used only if each school had a high participation rate for each sufficiently large subgroup Schools in the top 40 percent of each ranking for each of their sufficiently large subgroups meet the threshold for this criterion.
3. 2c. High School Subgroup Graduation Rate and CCR Measure. For each of the state's subgroups, all high schools are ranked based on the state's most recent graduation rate (2020-2021, 2019-2020, or 2018-2019) and, optionally, on the most recent measure of CCR (separately, combined, or as part of a composite score/index). High schools in the top 40 percent of this ranking for each of their sufficiently large subgroups meet the threshold for this criterion.
5. 2d. Whole School Improvement. In order for a school to meet the threshold for this criterion, the increase in the performance of all students in the school on the most recently administered state assessments in reading (or English language arts) and mathematics (separately, combined, or as part of a composite score/index), comparing the results for the most recent school year in which the state assessments were administered to the results for the school year 2-4 years before, must equal or exceed the increase in the performance of all public school students in the state over the same period.

In addition to meeting the above performance criteria, a nominated school must have at least 100 students enrolled and have assessment data for at least 10 students in each tested grade for both reading (or English language arts) and mathematics. States with a large percentage of schools with fewer than 100 students enrolled may include up to a similar percentage of these schools in their nominations. However, each school must have assessment data for at least 10 students in each tested grade for both reading (or English language arts) and mathematics.

All nominated public schools must meet the state's goals for interim progress in the state accountability system or other performance targets that are set by the state for the school year in question in at least reading (or English language arts), mathematics, graduation rates, and possibly other academic indicators, for the all students group. Additionally, nominated schools must have high assessment participation rates, using the most recent accountability results available, for the all students group. Finally, in order to meet all school performance eligibility requirements, all nominated public schools must be certified by the state prior to the September 2022 announcement of National Blue Ribbon Schools by the U. S. Secretary of Education.

Eligibility for Non-Public Schools: The Department invites the Council for American Private Education (CAPE) to nominate schools that meet the criteria for recognition. Non-profit, non-public schools interested in being nominated should contact CAPE directly at www.capenet.org/brs.html. In submitting nominated schools, CAPE must certify that the schools meet the minimum requirements established by the Department and describe any other criteria used to nominate the non-public schools.

Performance Criteria for Non-Public Schools: Non-public schools nominated for the National Blue Ribbon Schools award must meet the following eligibility criteria:

1. Exemplary High Performing Schools. "High performing" means:
1. That the achievement of the school's students in the most recently completed school year tested places the school in the top 15 percent in the nation in reading (or English language arts) and mathematics as measured by a nationally normed test or in the top 15 percent of its state as measured by a state test. If a non-public school administers both state test and nationally normed tests, the school must be in the top 15 percent for both tests.
2. Disaggregated results for student groups, including students from disadvantaged backgrounds, must be similar to the results for all students tested.
3. For the most recent year in which graduation rates are available, the graduation rate for non-public high schools must be 95% or higher.