In its second year, America's Best High Schools has again identified the country's top-
performing high schools. The goal of the project remains the same: provide a clear,
unbiased picture of how well public high schools serve all of their students - from the
highest achieving to the lowest achieving - in preparing them to demonstrate proficiency
in basic skills as well as readiness for college-level work.
Analysts at SchoolMatters developed the America's Best High School project for special
publication in U.S. News & World Report.
This year’s list recognizes more than 1,900 of the best high schools nationwide using
three categories of distinction: gold, silver and bronze. New this year, the list also
recognizes 17 schools as “Honorable Mention” schools. These are schools that achieved
high levels of college readiness, but only partially met the rest of the criteria for inclusion.
