Groton High Schools Among Best In CT, New Rankings Reveal

GROTON, CT — Two Groton high schools are included among the best in the state, according to new rankings.

U.S. News & World Report released its 2026-27 Best High Schools rankings, evaluating thousands of public high schools nationwide on measures including college readiness, graduation rates and student achievement.

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In Groton, Marine Science Magnet High School ranked 14th in the state. Robert E. Fitch High School came in at 57th in the state.

Here are the top 100 public high schools in Connecticut, along with where each ranked nationally:

The rankings are based on six performance measures, including student achievement on state-required assessments, graduation rates and college readiness.

U.S. News also considers how well schools serve underserved students, participation and performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams, curriculum breadth and overall student outcomes.

The rankings use data from the 2023-2024 school year and were produced with research firm RTI International.

Massachusetts had the largest share of high schools ranked in the top 25 percent nationally, at 47 percent, followed by New Jersey at 44 percent and Maryland at 43 percent.

Among metropolitan areas with a significant number of ranked schools, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California, had the largest share in the national top quarter, at 60 percent. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas, followed at 59 percent, and Milwaukee-Waukesha, Wisconsin, at 56 percent.

Central Magnet School in Tennessee topped the national ranking, followed by Signature School in Indiana and Julia R. Masterman Secondary School in Pennsylvania.

Signature School also ranked first among charter schools. High Technology High School in New Jersey ranked first among STEM high schools.

The full rankings are available at U.S. News & World Report.