U.S. News & World Report released its 2024 rankings of best high schools last week, with four Rochester-area school districts cracking the top 100 in New York state. The national and state rankings included more than 17,650 U.S. public high schools compared based on factors that included college readiness, math and reading proficiency and graduation rates. According to the report, the nation’s top school this year is BASIS Peoria, a charter school that serves fifth through 12th grade students in Peoria, Arizona.
In New York, 1,210 high schools were ranked on the state’s 2024 list. Most charter and magnet schools are included in the list, while private schools were not included. The top 10 public high schools in the state, according to the report, are all New York City Public Schools.
Best high schools in Rochester, New York ranked by US News & World Report
Pittsford Mendon High School was ranked highest among Rochester area districts, charting at No. 42 on the state list and No. 335 on the national list. Local public schools that made the state’s top 100 high schools (along with national rankings) include:
- Pittsford Sutherland High School – No. 50 (No. 394 in nation)
- Honeoye Falls-Lima Senior High School – No. 69 (No. 599 in nation)
- Brighton High School – No. 84 (No. 769 in nation)
Where did other Rochester region high schools fall in the state rankings?
- Geneseo – No. 113
- Victor – No. 121
- Fairport – No. 129
- Webster Thomas – No. 157
- Canandaigua Academy – No. 186
- Penfield – No. 197
- Rush-Henrietta – No. 231
- Spencerport – No. 236
- Webster Schroeder – No. 257
- Irondequoit – No. 264
- Wheatland-Chili – No. 298
- East Rochester – No. 349
- Churchville-Chili – No. 374
- Hilton – No. 382
- School of the Arts – No. 390
- Red Jacket (Manchester-Shortsville) – No. 398
- Marcus Whitman (Gorham-Middlesex) – No. 401
- Wayne – No. 423
- Ruben A. Cirillo (Gananda) – No. 433
- Brockport – No. 438
- Bloomfield – No. 473
- Eastridge – No. 507
- Greece Athena – No. 509
- Caledonia-Mumford – No. 544
- Palmyra-Macedon – No. 555
- Geneva – No. 602
- Greece Odyssey – No. 616
- Greece Arcadia – No. 663
- Kendall – No. 674
- Greece Olympia – No. 772
- School Without Walls – No. 780
- Gates-Chili – No. 818
- Joseph C. Wilson Magnet High School – No. 875
- East High School – No. 899
- World of Inquiry School – No. 905
- Vertus Charter School – No. 943
- Edison Career and Technology High School – No. 957-1,210
- Eugenio Maria De Hostos Charter School – No. 957-1,210
- Franklin High School – No. 957-1,210
- Holley – No. 957-1,210
- James Monroe High School – No. 957-1,210
- Northeast College Preparatory – No. 957-1,210
- Rochester Academy Charter School – No. 957-1,210
- Rochester Early College International School – No. 957-1,210
- True North Rochester Preparatory Charter School – No. 957-1,210
- University Preparatory Charter School for Young Men – No. 957-1,210
- Young Women’s College Prep Charter School of Rochester – No. 957-1,210
U.S. News & World Report methodology for high school rankings list
U.S. News & World Report changed its ranking system in 2019 to make the list more comprehensive and easier to understand.
The numbers take six factors — including math and reading proficiency, graduation rates and college readiness — weights them, and produces an overall score for each school between zero and 100.
The score correlates to a schools’ percentile and ranks each school against its peers in descending order.
Were all schools in the nation ranked by U.S. News and World Report?
No. Certain schools appear as “unranked” or don’t appear at all. In all, U.S. News ranked approximately 17,660 public high schools out of the more than 24,000 that were reviewed.
Possible reasons include schools without a 12th grade or fewer than 15 12th graders, or schools for which enough assessment data wasn’t available. Specialty schools, such as those with vocational orientations, were also not included.
Where did the school data come from?
- The Common Core of Data from the U.S. Department of Education
- Statewide math and reading level assessment tests and high school graduation rates, obtained from state education agencies and/or websites
- Advanced Placement exam data from The College Board
- International Baccalaureate exam data from International Baccalaureate
