U.S. News & World Report announces 2015 Best High Schools rankings

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC— U.S. News & World Report announced the 2015 Best High Schools rankings, highlighting top-performing public schools on a state and national level. U.S. News collaborated with RTI International to research and produce the rankings.

The School for the Talented and Gifted in Dallas, Texas, earned the No. 1 spot nationally for the fourth straight year, followed by BASIS Scottsdale in Arizona at No. 2 and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, at No. 3.

Researchers at RTI helped to collect and analyze the data behind the rankings using the U.S. News methodology which combined three aspects of school performance: (1) the performance of all students on state assessments in reading and mathematics; (2) the performance of disadvantaged student subgroups on these assessments; (3) and the rates at which high school students participate in and perform well on Advanced Placement® and International Baccalaureate tests. The rankings include data on more than 21,150 public high schools. 

"A high school diploma is essential for career and financial success," said Brian Kelly, editor and chief content officer of U.S. News & World Report. "The Best High Schools rankings are a useful tool for families trying to discern how well schools are serving their students in preparation for college and careers."

U.S. News differentiates high schools with gold, silver and bronze medals, using gold medals to indicate the greatest level of college readiness. In this year's edition of Best High Schools, 6,517 schools received medals. Maryland claims the highest percentage of top-performing high schools, with nearly 30 percent of its eligible schools earning gold or silver medals. California comes in second with 27 percent, followed by Connecticut with 25 percent. A state-by-state breakdown is available here.

Along with the national rankings, U.S. News released new Best STEM Schools, Best Charter Schools, Best Magnet Schools and individual statewide rankings.

The U.S. News Best High Schools website includes data assembled by RTI for thousands of schools. For more information about Best High Schools and to view the full list of rankings, visit www.usnews.com/highschools. 

Benjamin Dalton, Ph.D., a senior education research analyst at RTI, led the data collection and analysis for RTI. 

Media Contact: Sophia Sherry, Education-PR@usnews.com