U.S. News & World Report Announces the 2017 Best High Schools

Washington, D.C. – U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in education rankings, today announced the 2017 Best High Schools. The rankings identify the top-performing public high schools at the national and state level and include published data on more than 22,000 schools.

Public schools in Arizona make a strong showing in the national rankings, taking four of the top five spots. For the first time, BASIS Scottsdale comes in at No. 1 in the national rankings, followed by BASIS Tucson North at No. 2 and BASIS Oro Valley at No. 3. High Technology High School in New Jersey is the nation's Best STEM School for the third year in a row. U.S. News also released new Best Charter Schools, Best Magnet Schools and individual statewide rankings.

The U.S. News rankings highlight public schools that best serve all of their students, including disadvantaged populations. Overall, the rankings focus on student outcomes with an emphasis on graduation rates and state proficiency tests. Students at the 6,041 schools that receive national recognition from U.S. News graduate at rates that are 15 percent higher, on average, than students at schools nationwide that are not ranked.

"It is critical that students graduate from high school to put them on a successful path to college and a career," said Anita Narayan, managing editor of Education at U.S. News. "We encourage parents to use the data included in the 2017 Best High Schools rankings to help make informed decisions about their children's education."

New this year, U.S. News made a change in the way it factors Advanced Placement® exams as part of the tiebreaker in the methodology to better reflect schools that are preparing their students for college. The measure includes giving more weight to schools where students participate – and pass – a variety of college-level courses and exams.

"Research has shown that students exposed to a more diverse high school curriculum are better equipped for college success," said Robert Morse, chief data strategist at U.S. News. "With this new tiebreaker measure, U.S. News is rewarding schools that make an effort to challenge their students in a broad range of subjects."

U.S. News recognizes high schools with gold, silver and bronze medals, with gold medals indicating the greatest level of college readiness. Maryland, Florida and California are the states with the highest percentage of eligible schools that received gold and silver medals. A state-by-state breakdown is available here.

The Best High Schools rankings, available exclusively on usnews.com, feature data on a number of factors, including enrollment, graduation rates, diversity, participation in free and reduced-price lunch programs, and the results of state assessments and AP®.
U.S. News worked with RTI International, a global research firm, to implement the comprehensive rankings methodology.

Featured

  • CSU Pueblo Installs Solar-Powered Charging Benches

    Colorado State University Pueblo (CSU Pueblo) recently announced that it has installed four solar-powered charging benches from Bluebolt Outdoor, LLC, according to a news release.

  • Midland ISD Starts Construction on Two New High Schools

    The Midland Independent School District recently announced that it will break ground on two new high schools in Midland, Texas, according to a news release. The district is partnering with Pfluger Architects, Lee Lewis Construction, and Satterfield & Pontikes to create a total of over 1.5 million square feet for 8,400 students in grades 9–12.

  • Duncanville High School Breaks Ground on New CTE Building

    Duncanville High School in Duncanville, Texas, recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the newest addition to its campus, a Career and Technical Education (CTE) facility. The new building is part of a larger CTE expansion project for the school included in a 2023, $170-million bond program.

  • Key Considerations for Office-to-Higher-Education Facility Conversions

    Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, office-to-alternative-use conversions have become a recurring subject of urban development discourse. Office utilization rates across major U.S. cities remain below 50%, with vacancy rates exceeding 27% in San Francisco and 16% in New York. Higher education facilities present programmatic and spatial use cases that align readily with the typical characteristics of commercial office buildings.

Digital Edition