As many parents know, choosing the right high school is a big decision.
For the first time ever, U.S. News and World Report published rankings for high schools by metropolitan region, making it easy to compare area high schools against each other.
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, a magnet school in Fairfax County, Virginia, claimed the top spot for the region, which is unsurprising, seeing as it ranks fourth nationally.
The No. 2 regional spot went to Walt Whitman High School in Montgomery County, Maryland. It was ranked 93rd overall.
The rest of the top 10 are as follows:
- No. 3: Langley High School, Fairfax County, Virginia. (123rd overall)
- No. 4: Thomas S. Wootton High School, Montgomery County, Maryland. (125th overall)
- No. 5: McLean High School, Fairfax County, Virginia. (127th overall)
- No. 6: Oakton High School, Fairfax County, Virginia. (173rd overall)
- No. 7: Benjamin Banneker Academy High School, Washington, D.C. (178th overall)
- No. 8: School Without Walls High School, Washington, D.C. (191st overall)
- No. 9: Marshall High School, Fairfax County, Virginia. (251st overall)
- No. 10: Madison High School, Fairfax County, Virginia. (261st overall)
This year, U.S. News and World Report altered its methodology for assessing high schools. Over 23,000 schools were included in the review and 17,245 were ranked. In 2018, only 2,700 schools were ranked. This year’s rankings also included 1,760 charter and 857 magnet schools.
