Daniel Hand High School Is Among 2022's Best: U.S. News & World Report

MADISON, CT — Out of hundreds, Daniel Hand High School is ranked number 34in the list of top schools in Connecticut, according to a new national ranking by U.S. News and World Report. It's ranked number 1,654 nationally.

This year's list of best high schools evaluated more than 17,800 schools nationwide, including 165 in Connecticut.

The 2022 ranking of best high schools is intended to show how well the nation's public schools serve all students, regardless of achievement level, by teaching them basic skills and preparing them for college-level work, according to a news release from U.S. News.

Families can also use the rankings to see how schools compare at the national, state and local levels on factors such as graduation rates and college readiness.

No Connecticut school cracked U.S. News' Top 100, but Darien High School made it to No. 191 nationally.

Here are the local and national placements for all the Connecticut schools ranked by the magazine. U.S. News ranked 165 schools in CT, and you can search for your school's ranking by typing it in the search box directly below.

>>>Click here to read why U.S. News ranked your school where it did.

See related: Connecticut's Best Public High Schools: 2022 Niche.com Rankings Released

Here are the nation's top 15 Best High Schools ranking:

1. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology - Alexandria, Virginia
2. Academic Magnet High School - North Charleston, South Carolina
3. Signature School - Evansville, Indiana
4. School for Advanced Studies - Miami, Florida
5. Payton College Preparatory High School - Chicago, Illinois
6. The Davidson Academy of Nevada - Reno, Nevada
7. Central Magnet School - Murfreesboro, Tennessee
8. The School for the Talented and Gifted - Dallas, Texas
9. Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology - Lawrenceville, Georgia
10. Julia R. Masterman Secondary School - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This year’s schools were ranked on six measures: college readiness, college curriculum breadth, state assessment performance, state assessment proficiency, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, underserved student performance and graduation rates.

The data used in this year’s ranking is from the 2019-20 academic school year. U.S. News adjusted its calculation of these measures to account for the impact COVID-19 had on schools in the 2019-20 school year.

Since most states closed schools for in-person instruction starting in March 2020 — typically just before most states conduct assessments — the U.S. Department of Education granted waivers allowing all states to forgo state testing for the 2019-20 school year.

To account for this, U.S. News relied on past assessment data from the
three prior ranking years. Researchers also incorporated state science assessment data from the 2018-19 school year.

Read more about the Best High Schools methodology.

In addition to the national rankings, U.S. News also published rankings at the state, metro area and school district levels. Only metro areas and school districts with three or more high schools were included in these sub-rankings.