Best high school rankings: These are the top 3 in each state

The top public high schools, as ranked by U.S. News & World Report, span all regions of the country, from Virginia to Florida to Texas to Washington. Some of these institutions graduated 100% of their students while the other schools boast rates above 95%. They also scored in a similarly lofty range for college readiness.

The 2022 best high school rankings prioritize six factors: college readiness, the performance of underserved students, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, college curriculum breadth, and graduation rates. College readiness, for instance, measures how many students passed Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams. Underserved student performance gauges progress made by students who are Black, Hispanic or from low-income households.

The School for Advanced Studies in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, which placed fourth on the U.S. News list, was No. 1 in Florida. All of the school’s students—who are 90% minority and 47% economically disadvantaged—participated in AP classes. At No. 6 is the Davidson Academy of Nevada, the only school in the Davidson Academy School District at the University of Nevada, Reno. The school serves “profoundly” gifted students both in-person and online.

In the overall rankings, the top 15 high schools represent 14 states. Details on all 17,800 schools that were rated, and where they ranked nationally, can be found at U.S. News &World Report. Here are the top three schools, including charters, in each state:

Alabama: Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School (Montgomery Public Schools), New Century Tech Demo High School (Huntsville City Schools), Mountain Brook High School (Mountain Brook City Schools)

Alaska: Mat-Su Career & Tech Ed High School (Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District), Petersburg High School Petersburg (Petersburg Borough School District), Cordova Jr/Sr High School (Cordova City School District)

Arizona: BASIS Chandler (BASIS Charter Schools Inc.), BASIS Oro Valley (BASIS Charter Schools Inc.), University High School, (Tucson USD)

Arkansas: Haas Hall Academy (Fayetteville, AR), Northwest Arkansas Classical Academy High School (Bentonville, AR), Bentonville High School (Bentonville School District)

California: Whitney High School (ABC Unified School District), California Academy of Mathematics and Science (Long Beach USD), Oxford Academy (Anaheim Union High School District)

Colorado: D’Evelyn Junior/Senior High School (Jefferson County School District No. R-1), Liberty Common Charter School (Poudre School District R-1), Denver School of the Arts (Denver Public Schools)

Connecticut: Darien High School (Darien School District), Connecticut IB Academy (East Hartford School District), Weston High School (Weston School District)

Delaware: Charter School of Wilmington, Newark Charter School, Cab Calloway School of the Arts (Red Clay Consolidated School District)

District of Columbia: Benjamin Banneker Academy High School, School Without Walls High School, BASIS DC (DC BASIS DC Public School System)

Florida: School for Advanced Studies (Miami-Dade County Public Schools), Pine View School (Sarasota County Schools), School For Advanced Studies (Miami-Dade County Public Schools)

Georgia: Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology (Gwinnett County School District), Columbus High School (Muscogee County Public Schools), Davidson Magnet School (Richmond County Public Schools)

Hawaii: President Theodore Roosevelt High School, Henry J Kaiser High School, Kalani High School

Idaho: North Star Charter School (Eagle, ID), Coeur d’Alene Charter Academy School, Renaissance High School (Meridian School District)

Illinois: Payton College Preparatory High School (Chicago Public Schools), Northside College Preparatory High School (Chicago Public Schools), Jones College Prep High School (Chicago Public Schools)

Indiana: Signature School (Evansville, IN), The Indiana Academy (Ball State University), Herron High School (Indianapolis)

Iowa: West Senior High School (Iowa City Community School District), Decorah High School Decorah (Decorah Community School District), Pleasant Valley High School (Pleasant Valley Community School District)

Kansas: Sumner Academy of Arts and Science (Kansas City Public Schools), Blue Valley North High School (Blue Valley Schools), Shawnee Mission East High School (Shawnee Mission Public  Schools)

Kentucky: Dupont Manual High School (Jefferson County Public Schools), J. Graham Brown School (Jefferson County Public Schools), Beechwood High School (Beechwood Independent School District)

Louisiana: Patrick F. Taylor Science and Technology Academy (Jefferson Parish Schools), Benjamin Franklin High School (Orleans Parish School Board), Haynes Academy School for Advanced Studies (Jefferson Parish Schools)

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Maine: Greely High School (Regional School District 51), Kennebunk High School (Regional School District 21), Maine School of Science and Mathematics (Limestone, ME)

Maryland: Walt Whitman High School (Montgomery County Public Schools), Thomas S. Wootton High School (Montgomery County Public Schools), Eastern Technical High School (Baltimore County Public Schools)

Massachusetts: Boston Latin School (Boston Public Schools), Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School (Marlborough, MA), Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter (Hyannis, MA)

Michigan: City High Middle School (Grand Rapids Public Schools), International Academy of Macomb (Chippewa Valley Schools), International Academy (Oakland Schools)

Minnesota: Math and Science Academy (Woodbury, MN) Nova Classical Academy Upper School (Saint Paul, MN), Eagle Ridge Academy Charter School (Minnetonka, MN)

Mississippi: Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (Columbus, MS), Lewisburg High School (Desoto County School District), Petal High School (Petal School District)

Missouri: Metro Academic and Classical High School (St. Louis Public Schools), Lincoln College Prep. (Kansas City Public Schools), Ladue Horton Watkins High School (Ladue School District)

Montana: Bozeman High School (Bozeman Public Schools), Gardiner High School (Gardiner Public Schools), Whitefish High School (Whitefish School District)

Nebraska: Elkhorn South High School (Elkhorn Public Schools), Elkhorn High School (Elkhorn Public Schools), Millard North High School (Millard Public Schools)

Nevada: The Davidson Academy of Nevada (University of Nevada, Reno), Advanced Technologies Academy (Clark County School District), Coral Academy High School (Washoe County School District)

New Hampshire: Academy for Science and Design (Nashua, NH), Windham High School (Windham School District), Hanover High School (Dresden School District)

New Jersey: Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies (Middlesex County Vocational and Technical School District), Union County Magnet High School (Union County Vocational Technical Schools), Bergen County Academies (Bergen County Vocational Technical School District)

New Mexico: Albuquerque Institute of Math and Science (Albuquerque, NM), Cottonwood Classical Prep (Albuquerque Public Schools), The Academy for Technology and the Classics (Santa Fe Public Schools)

New York: Townsend Harris High School (New York City Public Schools), Queens High School for the Sciences at York College (New York City Public Schools), Stuyvesant High School (New York City Public Schools)

North Carolina: The Early College at Guilford (Guilford County Schools), STEM Early College at N.C. A&T (Guilford County Schools), Raleigh Charter High School

North Dakota: North High School (Fargo Public Schools), Fargo Davies High School (Fargo Public Schools), Century High School (Bismarck Public Schools)

Ohio: Ottawa Hills High School (Ottawa Hills Local #1), Walnut Hills High School (Cincinnati Public Schools), Wyoming High School (Wyoming City Schools)

Oklahoma: Harding Charter Preparatory High School (Oklahoma City, OK), Classen High School of Advanced Studies (Oklahoma City Public Schools), Booker T. Washington High School (Tulsa Public Schools)

Oregon: International School of Beaverton (Beaverton School District), Eugene High School (Eugene School District), West Linn High School (West Linn-Wilsonville School District)

Pennsylvania: Julia R. Masterman Secondary School (The School District of Philadelphia), Downingtown STEM Academy (Downingtown Area School District). Radnor High School (Radnor Township School District)

Rhode Island: Classical High School (Providence Public Schools), Barrington High School (Barrington School District), East Greenwich High School (East Greenwich School District)

South Carolina: Academic Magnet High School (Charleston County School District), Charleston School of the Arts (Charleston County School District), Palmetto Scholars Academy (SC Public Charter School District)

South Dakota: Hill City High School (Hill City School District), Stevens High School (Rapid City Area School District), Washington High School (Sioux Falls School District)

Tennessee: Central Magnet School (Rutherford County Schools), Merrol Hyde Magnet School (Sumner County Schools), Hume Fogg Magnet High School (Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools)

Texas: The School for the Talented and Gifted (Dallas ISD), Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School (Dallas ISD), Science and Engineering Magnet School (Dallas ISD)

Utah: Beehive Science and Technology Academy (Sandy, UT), Tech Collegiate High School (North Logan, UT), Northern Utah Academy for Math Engineering and Science (Layton, UT)

Vermont: Mount Mansfield Union High School (Mount Mansfield Modified Unified School District0, South Burlington High School (South Burlington School District), Champlain Valley Union High School (Champlain Valley Unified School District)

Virginia: Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (Fairfax County Public Schools), Langley High School (Fairfax County Public Schools), McLean High School (Fairfax County Public Schools)

Washington: Tesla STEM High School (Lake Washington School District) International School (Bellevue School District), Raisbeck Aviation High School (Highline School District)

West Virginia: George Washington High School (Kanawha County Schools), Bridgeport High School (Harrison County Schools), Morgantown High School (Monongalia County Schools)

Wisconsin: High School of Health Sciences (Kettle Moraine School District), Cedarburg High School (Cedarburg School District), Whitefish Bay High School (Whitefish Bay School District)

Wyoming: Jackson Hole High School (Teton County School District #1), Sheridan High School (Sheridan County School District #2), Laramie High School (Albany County School District #1)