Florida, Tennessee, California, Pennsylvania schools take top spots in Vocabulary Bowl, Fall River and Cambridge schools tops in Massachusetts

IXL Learning and Vocabulary.com have announced the spring champions of the 2025 Vocabulary Bowl, a biannual competition that brings together K-12 schools to showcase their vocabulary and literacy skills. A Fall River school took the top spot in Massachusetts.

Students don’t compete in person—instead, they earn points for their school by mastering words while using the platform. Each time a student answers enough questions correctly to demonstrate mastery of a word, their school earns one point.

This spring, more than 380,000 learners and 30,000 teachers from 109 countries joined the action.

The competition took center stage on Vocabulary.com where schools faced off against their peers to become undisputed champions in one of three divisions and title holders for their respective states.

Only 5% of schools earned titles.

The Division winners for the Spring 2025 Season are (an asterisk indicates the school also had a top 10 teacher): 

• Division I (1,000 students or more):
  • High School: Saint Thomas Aquinas High School (Fort Lauderdale, Florida)
  • Middle and Elementary School: Fred J Page Middle School (Franklin, Tennessee)
• Division II (500-999 students):
  • High School: DuBois Area High School* (DuBois, Pennsylvania)
  • Middle and Elementary School: Woodland Middle School (Brentwood, Tennessee)
• Division III (up to 499 students):
  • High School: Buckingham Collegiate Charter Academy* (Vacaville, California)
  • Middle and Elementary School: Muscatel Middle School (Rosemead, California) 

U.S. state and territory champions are listed below, with the top high school listed first, followed by the leading middle or elementary school: 

• Alabama: Riverchase Career Center (RC3), Crossville Middle School
• Alaska: Minto School, Anchor Lutheran School
• Arizona: Red Mountain High School, Sierra Verde STEAM Academy
• Arkansas: Central High School, Pea Ridge Junior High School
• California: Etiwanda High School*, Muscatel Middle School
• Colorado: Boulder High School, Westview Middle School
• Connecticut: Plainville High School, Michael F. Wallace Middle School
• Delaware: Thomas McKean High School, Saint John the Beloved School 
• District of Columbia: Benjamin Banneker Academic High School, Inspired Teaching Demo School 
• Florida: Saint Thomas Aquinas High School, Saint Anthony School 
• Georgia: Johnson County High School, Kittredge Magnet School
• Guam: Harvest Christian Academy
• Hawaii: Kalani High School, Kaimuki Middle School
• Idaho: Capital High School, Saint Joseph’s School
• Illinois: Oak Lawn Community High School, Peotone Junior High School
• Indiana: Manchester Junior Senior High School, East Central Middle School
• Iowa: Maple Valley Anthon Oto High School, Sacred Heart School
• Kansas: Lincoln Junior Senior High School, Cheney Middle School
• Kentucky: Boyle County High School, Crittenden County Middle School
• Louisiana: Archbishop Chapelle High School, Church Point Middle School
• Maine: Sacopee Valley High School, Wells Junior High School
• Maryland: Chesapeake Math & It PC – N High School*, North Salisbury Elementary School
• Massachusetts: Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School, Shady Hill School
• Michigan: Mayville High School, Mayville Middle School 
• Minnesota: Luverne High School, Minnetonka Middle School West
• Mississippi: Jackson Academy, McLain Attendance Center
• Missouri: Sarcoxie Middle High School, Hartville Middle School
• Montana: Lincoln County High School, Ben Steele Middle School
• Nebraska: Southwest Junior Senior High School, Johnson Crossing Academic Center
• Nevada: Sig Rogich Middle School
• New Hampshire: Londonderry High School, Plymouth Elementary School
• New Jersey: Hoboken High School*, Manalapan – Englishtown Middle School
• New Mexico: San Juan College High School*, Early College High School
• New York: James Madison High School, Great Neck North Middle School
• North Carolina: Southern Alamance High School, Morehead City Middle School
• North Dakota: Hatton Eileson High School, Kindred Elementary School
• Ohio: Walnut Hills High School, Wheelersburg Middle School
• Oklahoma: Coweta High School, Owasso Sixth Grade Center
• Oregon: Marist Catholic High School, Nyssa Middle School 
• Pennsylvania: DuBois Area High School, Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander School 
• Rhode Island: Classical High School, Hugh B Bain Middle School
• South Carolina: Catawba Ridge High School, R P Dawkins Middle School
• South Dakota: Redfield School, Harrisburg North Middle School
• Tennessee: Science Hill High School, Woodland Middle School
• Texas: Arp High School*, Hogg Middle School
• Utah: Judge Memorial Catholic High School, Wasatch Junior High School
• Vermont: Enosburg Falls Middle High School, Christ the King School
• Virginia: St. Anne’s – Belfield School, Lakeview Elementary School 
• Washington: Moses Lake Christian Academy*, Alki Middle School
• West Virginia: Scott High School, John Adams Middle School 
• Wisconsin: Harold S Vincent High School, Oak Creek East Middle School 
• Wyoming: Riverside Middle High School, Lyman Intermediate School

The Canadian Provincial Winners are:

• Alberta: Central High Sedgewick Public School
• British Columbia: Notre Dame Regional Secondary School, Glenrosa Middle School
• Northwest Territories: Deninu School 
• Nova Scotia: Halifax Christian Academy 
• Ontario: Ymca Academy
• Quebec: Ecole Internationale Lucille-Teasdale 
• Saskatchewan: Miller Comprehensive High School

The international division ranks schools based solely on total words mastered—no size brackets.

The International (non-US/Canada) Winners are:

• Nan Hua Primary School – Singapore 
• One Target Education – Singapore
• École Jeannine Manuel – France
• Raffles Institution – Singapore
• Shanghai SMIC Private School – China 
• The Galaxy School – India
• The American College of Sofia – Bulgaria 
• Menntaskólinn á Tröllaskaga – Iceland
• Fayston Preparatory – South Korea
• Guam Department of Education: Archdiocese of Agana – Guam 

This season also celebrated standout newcomers, proving that first-timers can go toe-to-toe with seasoned competitors.

The Top Rookie Schools are:

• Oak Creek West Middle School – Wisconsin
• Moses Lake Christian Academy – Washington
• Michael F. Wallace Middle School – Connecticut
• Benjamin Banneker Academic High School – District of Columbia
• Montgomery Upper Middle School – New Jersey

“The Vocabulary Bowl is proof that words matter—not just in school, but in how students make sense of the world and express who they are,” said Paul Mishkin, CEO of IXL Learning, Vocabulary.com’s parent company. “It’s incredible to see so many learners worldwide challenge themselves, grow their confidence and discover just how far a strong vocabulary can take them.”