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.