From left in the front row: Dinan Elsyad, 17; Sean Nguyen, 16; and Tiffany Ji, 17. From left in the back row: Jordan Lee, 17, and Shibli Nomani, 17. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)
Niche, an online platform that helps U.S. students and families select schools, has released its list of the best public and private high schools in both the U.S. and the D.C. area. Here’s a look at how the area’s top schools ranked.
Public schools
No. 1: Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology — Alexandria, Virginia.
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, tops the list of public high schools in the D.C. area. With a student-to-teacher ratio of 18-to-1 for grades 9 through 12, Thomas Jefferson boasts a 99% student proficiency in both reading and math, according to Niche.
In addition to its top spot in the area, Thomas Jefferson also ranked No. 5 for public high schools nationwide.
Completing the top five for public high schools were:
- No. 2: Poolesville High School — Poolesville, Maryland.
- No. 3: Walt Whitman High School — Bethesda, Maryland.
- No. 4: Winston Churchill High School — Potomac, Maryland.
- No. 5: McLean High School — McLean, Virginia.
Read Niche’s complete ranking of D.C.-area public high schools.
Private schools
No. 1: Georgetown Day School — Washington, D.C.
For area private schools, D.C.’s Georgetown Day School in Northwest ranked No. 1. Boasting a low student-teacher ratio of 6-to-1, Georgetown Day School says its focus is to teach students “to innovate, think critically and engage as moral, ethical citizens.” The average SAT score for graduating students is 1410.
Other private schools in the top five were:
- No. 2: Sidwell Friends — Washington, D.C.
- No. 3: National Cathedral School — Washington, D.C.
- No. 4: Holton Arms — Bethesda, Maryland.
- No. 5: St. Albans School — Washington, D.C.
Read Niche’s complete ranking of D.C.-area private high schools.
