The council had sought the review because it claimed that an Ofsted annual performance assessment published last December failed to acknowledge steps taken by the authority to improve.
But Justice Sales refused permission for the council to apply for the review, and said that Ofsted's assessment had been "careful and considered".
He added: "Ofsted properly considered that there were some indications of improvement but concluded overall that these were not sufficiently widespread or relevant as to bring the claimant [Surrey Council] into the ‘adequate' category."
An Ofsted spokeswoman said the regulator had "believed all along" that Surrey's application was "without merit".
She added: "We conduct all of our work with the utmost rigour and we are pleased at this outcome."
A Surrey County Council spokeswoman said that the authority had decided "not to pursue this matter further".
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