U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in education rankings, today announced the 2023-2024 Best High Schools rankings. The rankings evaluate nearly 18,000 public high schools at the national, state and local level. And Arizona is home to three of the five best charter schools in the U.S.

Ranking Arizona: Top 10 charter schools for 2023

This year’s rankings showcase the schools whose students demonstrate outstanding outcomes, surpassing the anticipated benchmarks, including achieving high graduation rates.

In this edition:

  • Find information on public high schools showing details on enrollment, state assessment statistics, student body demographics and AP and IB data, where applicable.
  • Peruse the Best High Schools rankings at the state, metro and school district levels, including subrankings for each metropolitan area and school districts with three or more high schools. Additionally, find rankings on charter, magnet and STEM schools.
  • Read articles on the top high schools in the nation, and what to know about STEM public high schools.

“Having access to a strong high school program is paramount for students as they face an ever-changing world,” says Liana Loewus, managing editor of education at U.S. News. “Making data on our high schools available helps parents ensure their child is in the educational environment that best sets them up to thrive.”

The highest ranked public schools in the 2023-2024 Best High Schools national rankings are those whose students achieved exceptional scores on state assessments for math, reading and science. These schools also had strong underserved student performance, college readiness and curriculum breadth, as well as graduation rates.

College readiness specifically measures participation and performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams, and underserved student performance focuses on students who are Black, Hispanic or from low-income households. The rankings include demographic information on schools ranked in the top 5%, 10%, and 25%.

The Best High Schools rankings are available exclusively on USNews.com and include data on a variety of factors, such as enrollment, student diversity, participation in free and reduced-price lunch programs, in addition to graduation rates and the results of state assessments. U.S. News worked with RTI International, a global research firm, to implement the comprehensive ranking methodology.

National Ranking – Top 10

  1. The Early College at Guilford (NC)
  2. Signature School (IN)
  3. School for Advanced Studies (FL)
  4. The Davidson Academy of Nevada (NV)
  5. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (VA)
  6. The School for the Talented and Gifted (TX)
  7. Tesla STEM High School (WA)
  8. Academic Magnet High School (SC)
  9. Oxford Academy (CA)
  10. Payton College Preparatory High School (IL)

Best Charter Schools – Top 5

  1. Signature School Inc (IN)
  2. BASIS Peoria (AZ)
  3. Albuquerque Institute of Math & Science (NM)
  4. BASIS Scottsdale (AZ)
  5. BASIS Oro Valley (AZ)

Best Magnet High Schools – Top 5

  1. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (VA)
  2. The School for the Talented and Gifted (TX)
  3. Tesla STEM High School (WA)
  4. Academic Magnet High School (SC)
  5. International Academy of Macomb (MI)

Best STEM High Schools – Top 5

  1. High Technology High School (NJ)
  2. Basis Scottsdale (AZ)
  3. Academy for Mathematics Science and Engineering (NJ)
  4. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (VA)
  5. BASIS Chandler (AZ)

For more information, visit Best High Schools and use #BestHighSchools on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.