What DC-area school is ranked as one of the best in the nation

U.S. News & World Report released its latest rankings of the nation’s best high schools and one well-known school from the D.C. region remains part of the list.

Following controversial changes to its admissions policy in 2021 to boost diversity, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia remains the top ranked school in the D.C. region and 14th in the nation, slipping from the top 10. It’s also the 5th ranked STEM school in the nation.

Here are the top three schools in the D.C.-area, according to U.S. News’ ranking:

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County
School Without Walls in D.C.
Benjamin Banneker Academic High School in D.C.

Schools that emphasized graduation rates received higher consideration for the list of best schools, according to LaMont Jones, managing editor of education at U.S. News & World Report. He added that the top schools in the D.C. region also represent some of the best students from underrepresented demographic groups based on race and income.

“They are pretty much firing on all of those cylinders,” Jones said.

The publication’s national rankings evaluate about 18,000 public high schools across the country. It uses multiple metrics that show students with “outstanding outcomes” in state assessments in multiple subjects that will prepare them for college, Jones said.

“Also, students earning qualifying scores on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams, those college level exams and also schools where their students graduated at higher proportions,” He said. “That’s also very important.”

The rankings offer a starting point for parents to understand a school’s academic performance, whether it’s a prospective school or a school that their student is already attending.

“This is one tool they can use — as long-term highly respected tool — to look at as a resource to see where they may want to relocate or where they want to live for a really high education for their child,” Jones said.

The District’s top high schools are:

School Without Walls High School
Benjamin Banneker Academic High School
Basis D.C.
District of Columbia International School
McKinley Technology High School

Maryland’s top high schools are:

Eastern Technical High School in Baltimore County
Walt Whitman High School in Montgomery County
Poolesville High School in Montgomery County
Thomas Wootton High School in Montgomery County
Winston Churchill High School in Montgomery County

Virginia’s top high schools are:

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County
Langley High School in Fairfax County
Open High School in Richmond
Oakton High School in Fairfax County
McLean High School in Fairfax County

You can see the schools ranked by state as well as Metropolitan districts online.

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