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RTI International experts collected and analyzed data used to generate the rankings
RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — U.S. News & World Report today announced its 2024 Best High Schools rankings, which identify the top-performing public schools in each metropolitan area, state and nationally. Experts at RTI International, a nonprofit research institute, supported the collection and analysis of the data used to generate the rankings.
Basis Peoria, Signature School and Tesla STEM High School took the top three places in the national rankings, which included nearly 18,000 high schools.
Leading the nation with 12% of its high schools ranking in the top 5% of all schools nationwide, Delaware and Washington, D.C. each had the largest percentage of top-ranked schools. Other states with a high percentage of its schools in the top 5% included Massachusetts and New Jersey.
"The 2024 Best High Schools rankings offer parents and students a valuable resource to understand a school’s performance,” said LaMont Jones, Ed.D., managing editor of education at U.S. News. “Accessible data on high schools equips families with the resources to navigate today’s education landscape, empowering them to make well-informed decisions.”
RTI collaborated with U.S. News to implement a methodology with six factors: (1) college readiness, (2) reading, math and science proficiency, (3) reading, math and science performance, (4) underserved student performance, (5) college curriculum breadth and (6) graduation rates. Specifically, college readiness measures participation and performance on Advanced Placement® (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) tests.
In addition to the national list, U.S. News released rankings for high schools in each state, including charter and magnet schools, which are available separately in the Best Charter Schools and Best Magnet Schools rankings.
Learn more about RTI’s data collection services and capabilities
Learn more about RTI’s K-12 education work
Media Contact for U.S. News & World Report: Jeanette Perez Colby (jcolby@usnews.com)
