The Top 10 High Schools in America

Yahoo Parenting

Students of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology participate in a 24-hour Hackathon (PHOTO: Vicky Somma)

The Newsweek High School Rankings have been published for over a decade, recognizing the achievements of some of the best public high schools in the U.S. for college readiness.

“America’s Top High Schools” identifies the top 500 schools by measuring factors including graduation rate, college enrollment rate, SAT and ACT scores and participation, AP/IB scores and participation, full time counselors to students ratio, student retention, enrollment in college courses during high school and state test scores. Each school received a College Readiness Score, reflecting the percentile rank of the school’s overall college readiness as measured by our criteria. Newsweek also publishes a second list called “Beating the Odds”, which ranks schools based on performance, while also accounting for student poverty rates.

To see the full lists and learn about how schools were evaluated, please visit America’s Top High Schools 2015.

The No. 1 school on Newsweek’s “America’s Top High Schools 2015” ranking is Thomas Jefferson High, located in Alexandria, VA. Thomas Jefferson received a perfect overall College Readiness Score of 100 on Newsweek’s ranking criteria. The school has a graduation rate of 100% and a college enrollment rate of 99.8%. The average SAT exam score at the school is 2182 and the average AP exam score is 4.45.

High Technology High School in Lincroft, NJ took second place with a College Readiness Score of 99.7. The school has a graduation rate of 100% and a college enrollment rate of 100%. The average SAT exam score at the school is 2237 and the average AP exam score is 4.47.

The Academy For Mathematics Science And Engineering in Rockaway, NJ is ranked third with a College Readiness Score of 98.2. The school has a graduation rate of 100% and a college enrollment rate of 100%. The average SAT exam score at the school is 2136.2  and the average AP exam score is 4.31.

In fourth place, Union County Magnet High School in Scotch Plains, NJ came in with a College Readiness Score of 97.2 . The school has a graduation rate of 100% and a college enrollment rate of 100%. The average SAT exam score at the school is 1985.8 and the average AP exam score is 4.41.

Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, NJ came in fifth place with a College Readiness Score of 95.9. The school has a graduation rate of 100% and a college enrollment rate of 100%. The average SAT exam score at the school is 2129 and the average AP exam score is 4.29.

Gretchen Whitney High in Cerritos, CA is sixth best with a College Readiness Score of 95.4. The school has a graduation rate of 100% and a college enrollment rate of 100%. The average SAT exam score at the school is 1999 and the average AP exam score is 4.1.

The Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies in Edison, NJ is ranked seventh with a College Readiness Score of 95.0. The school has a graduation rate of 100% and a college enrollment rate of 100%. The average SAT exam score at the school is 2095 and the average AP exam score is 3.78.

International Academy in Bloomfield Hills, MI is ranked eighth with a College Readiness Score of 93.9. The school has a graduation rate of 99.3% and a college enrollment rate of 100%. The average SAT exam score at the school is 1984; this school did not report an average AP test score, but the average International Baccalaureate (IB) test score is 5.17.

In ninth place, The Academy Of Allied Health And Science in Neptune, NJ came in with a College Readiness Score of 93.9. The school has a graduation rate of 100% and a college enrollment rate of 100%. The average SAT exam score at the school is 2015 and the average AP exam score is 4.83.

Payton College Preparatory HS in Chicago, IL took the tenth place slot with a College Readiness Score of 93.8. The school has a graduation rate of 98.6% % and a college enrollment rate of 97.8%%. The school did not report an average SAT score; the average ACT score is 30 and the average AP exam score is 3.89.