U.S. News & World Report Announces Expanded 2019 Best High Schools Rankings

WASHINGTON, April 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in education rankings, today announced the 2019 Best High Schools – a new, revamped edition of the rankings, providing the most comprehensive evaluation of America's public high schools ever produced by U.S. News. Now more than 17,000 schools nationwide are numerically ranked – up from last year's 2,700 schools.

"Our mission with the Best High Schools rankings has always been to educate families about the schools in their district," said Anita Narayan, managing editor of Education at U.S. News. "By evaluating more schools than ever before, the new edition expands that focus so all communities can see which schools in their area are successfully serving their students – including historically underserved populations."

New in the 2019 Best High Schools rankings:

• The overall top 20 schools are ranked so highly due to their strong performance in the ranking indicators, such as graduation rates and state test results. Minor differences in Academic Magnet High School's performance compared with its peers earns the South Carolina school the No. 1 spot.
• Texas has three schools in the top 20 – the most of any state – followed by Arizona and California with two each. The top 10 schools overall represent 10 different states, demonstrating that a high-quality education can be found throughout the country.
• Charter and magnet schools perform well in the rankings. Within the top 5% of ranked schools, a third are either charter or magnet. Over 18% are charter schools, and 15% are magnet schools.
• In addition to expanded national rankings, U.S. News released expanded rankings for all eligible public high schools in each state, as well as the Best Charter Schools and Best Magnet Schools.

The 2019 Best High Schools rankings take a holistic approach to evaluating schools, looking at six factors: college readiness, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth and graduation rates. Specifically, college readiness measures participation and performance on AP and IB exams.

The new methodology assigns weights to the six factors and then produces an overall score on which the ranking is based – as compared to the previous methodology, which involved a four-step process in which the final step used college readiness as the sole basis to determine a school's numerical rank.

"We enhanced the methodology to provide an even more comprehensive ranking that is easier to understand and, therefore, more useful to parents and educators," said Robert Morse, chief data strategist at U.S. News. "Now, each school's score correlates to its national percentile – a school with a score of 70 is in the 70^th percentile and ranks higher than 70% of schools. Going forward, this methodology will allow for intuitive comparisons of a school's performance year after year."

The Best High Schools rankings are available exclusively on usnews.com and include data on a variety of factors, such as enrollment, student diversity, participation in free and reduced-price lunch programs, graduation rates and the results of state assessments. U.S. News worked with RTI International, a global research firm, to implement the comprehensive ranking methodology.

2019 Best High Schools National Rankings – Top 10

*See the full rankings here.

1. Academic Magnet High School (SC)
2. Maine School of Science and Mathematics
3. BASIS Scottsdale (AZ)
4. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (VA)
5. Central Magnet School (TN)
6. Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science, and Technology (GA)
7. Haas Hall Academy (AR)
8. International Academy of Macomb (MI)
9. Payton College Preparatory High School (IL)
10. Signature School (IN)

2019 Best STEM High Schools – Top 5

1. High Technology High School (NJ)
2. BASIS Scottsdale (AZ)
3. BASIS Peoria (AZ)
4. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (VA)
5. The Early College at Guilford (NC)

2019 Best Charter High Schools – Top 5

1. BASIS Scottsdale (AZ)
2. Haas Hall Academy (AR)
3. Signature School (IN)
4. BASIS Chandler (AZ)
5. BASIS Peoria (AZ)

2019 Best Magnet High Schools – Top 5

1. Academic Magnet High School (SC)
2. Maine School of Science and Mathematics
3. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (VA)
4. Central Magnet School (TN)
5. International Academy of Macomb (MI)          

For more information, visit Facebook and Twitter using #BestHighSchools. U.S. News will also host the "Workforce of Tomorrow" summit May 22, 2019, in Washington, D.C. Committed to examining and advancing solutions for a STEM-skilled workforce, the U.S. News STEM Solutions Presents: Workforce of Tomorrow conference is the preeminent conference for leaders in education, policy and workforce development. To learn more, visit USNewsSTEMsolutions.com.

Media Contact: Madeline Smanik, [email protected], 202-823-4797

About U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is the global leader in quality rankings that empower people to make better, more informed decisions about important issues affecting their lives. A digital news and information company focused on Education, Health, Money, Travel, Cars and Civic, USNews.com provides consumer advice, rankings and analysis to serve people making complex decisions throughout all stages of life. More than 40 million people visit USNews.com each month for research and guidance. Founded in 1933, U.S. News is headquartered in Washington, D.C.

SOURCE U.S. News & World Report

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