Our Updated 529 Medalist Rating Methodology Offers More Detail for Investors

Starting Nov. 1, 2026, Morningstar will show updated labels when displaying pillar scores for Morningstar’s Medalist Rating for 529 education savings plans. This is a change in how scores are shown to investors, not in how they are determined. Our analytical framework, pillar weights, and rating thresholds remain unchanged.

Better Visibility Into Our Five-Point Pillar Scores

Morningstar analysts have assigned People, Process, and Parent Pillar scores on a five-point scale since 2020, and those pillar scores serve as the foundation for each 529 plan’s Medalist Rating. Due to technological constraints, we currently condense those scores into three broad labels: Positive, Neutral, and Negative. As a result, scores of 1 (Low) and 2 (Below Average) both appear as “Negative,” a score of 3 (Average) appears as “Neutral,” and scores of 4 (Above Average) and 5 (High) both appear as “Positive.”

Starting in November, we’re updating our scoring displays. Investors and users will now see all five levels reflected in the labels displayed:

The updated labels better reflect the underlying assessments that inform our Medalist Ratings.

Full Transparency to Price Score

Similarly, our products currently display a discrete label (Negative, Neutral, or Positive) for the Price pillar, which is mapped from a score that’s based on how much they differ from the median, also known as a modified z-score. Starting Nov. 1, products will directly display that score as a number between negative 2.5 and 2.5, with no additional mapping to a label.

The Price adjustment to the Plan Score remains unchanged: The modified z-score continues to be calculated the same way, and plans with below-median fees still receive a positive score adjustment while plans with above-median fees receive a negative one.

What Hasn’t Changed

Our assessment framework for 529 education savings plans remains the same. Analysts will continue to evaluate plans using the same criteria and assign forward-looking five-point scores for People, Process, and Parent pillars. The pillar scores will retain the same weights (Process 50%, People 25%, Parent 25%). The thresholds for Gold, Silver, Bronze, Neutral, and Negative Medalist Ratings remain unchanged. You can access the updated methodology document here and the latest 529 savings plan ratings here.