91 MA High Schools Among U.S. News' Best In 2018

Massachusetts high schools dominate U.S. News & World Report’s 2018 rankings of best high schools in the country, with 91 schools landing on the list. Boston Latin School was the highest-ranked Bay State School at No. 48, and over 50 schools were among the top 1,000 in the country.

The 2018 best high school rankings were released on Wednesday and evaluate over 20,500 public high schools. U.S. News identified schools that best serve all students and assessed how prepared students are for college-level work. Schools are also recognized with gold, silver and bronze medals with gold indicating the greatest level of college readiness.

Twenty Massachusetts schools received a gold medal, 71 received a silver medal and 22 schools received a bronze medal. Bronze medal schools are not ranked by U.S. News.

Massachusetts' performance was rated No. 1 overall by U.S. News. The state-by-state performance rating was based on which states have the highest the highest proportion of schools with gold and silver medals. Based on this metric, Massachusetts was the leading performer, followed by California and Maryland.

“Top-ranked schools succeed in three main areas: exceeding expectations on state proficiency tests, offering challenging coursework and graduating their students,” Anita Narayan, managing editor of Education at U.S. News, said in a press release.

Here’s how Massachusetts' schools finished according to place and medal in the 2018 rankings:

1. Boston Latin School (48) GOLD
2. Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School (107) GOLD
3. Mystic Valley Regional Charter School (193) GOLD
4. Lenox Memorial High (202) GOLD
5. Hopkinton High School (237) GOLD
6. Boston Latin Academy (257) GOLD
7. Medfield Senior High (259) GOLD
8. Dover-Sherborn Regional High (276) GOLD
9. Arlington High (287) GOLD
10. John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics and Science (303) GOLD
11. Belmont High (321) GOLD
12. Manchester Essex Regional High School (334) GOLD
13. Newton South High (340) GOLD
14. Lexington High (368) GOLD
15. Weston High (379) GOLD
16. The Bromfield School (421) GOLD
17. Duxbury High (431) GOLD
18. Needham High (442) GOLD
19. Sharon High (445) GOLD
20. Wellesley High School (487) GOLD
21. Boston Collegiate Charter School (514) SILVER
22. Littleton High School (532) SILVER
23. Acton-Boxborough Regional High (537) SILVER
24. Wayland High School (545) SILVER
25. Norwell High (579) SILVER
26. KIPP Academy Lynn Charter School (591) SILVER
27. Westwood High (600) SILVER
28. Milton High (617) SILVER
29. Holliston High (632) SILVER
30. Nashoba Regional (633) SILVER
31. Westford Academy (647) SILVER
32. Winchester High School (648) SILVER
33. Tantasqua Regional Sr High (674) SILVER
34. Berkshire Arts and Technology Charter Public School (702) SILVER
35. Westborough High (713) SILVER
36. Nauset Regional High (729) SILVER
37. Brookline High (752) SILVER
38. Newton North High (753) SILVER
39. Foxborough Regional Charter School (762) SILVER
40. Salem Academy Charter School (784) SILVER
41. Hingham High (789) SILVER
42. Nipmuc Regional High (791) SILVER
43. Marblehead High (815) SILVER
44. Canton High (817) SILVER
45. Natick High (841) SILVER
46. Concord Carlisle High (868) SILVER
47. Shrewsbury Sr High (870) SILVER
48. Masconomet Regional High School (892) SILVER
49. Hopedale Jr Sr High (906) SILVER
50. Lynnfield High (914) SILVER
51. University Pk Campus School (947) SILVER
52. Ashland High (974) SILVER
53. Pioneer Charter School of Science (1053) SILVER
54. Frontier Regional (1070) SILVER
55. Josiah Quincy Upper School (1087) SILVER
56. Swampscott High (1103) SILVER
57. Longmeadow High (1145) SILVER
58. Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High (1176) SILVER
59. Prospect Hill Academy Charter School (1184) SILVER
60. Boston Community Leadership Academy (1188) SILVER
61. Wachusett Regional High (1256) SILVER
62. Braintree High (1309) SILVER
63. Boston Preparatory Charter Public School (1401) SILVER
64. Community Charter School of Cambridge (1441) SILVER
65. Lee Middle/High School (1444) SILVER
66. Agawam High (1457) SILVER
67. Rising Tide Charter Public School (1524) SILVER
68. Seekonk High (1562) SILVER
69. Falmouth High (1568) SILVER
70. Amherst Regional High (1592) SILVER
71. Barnstable High (1646) SILVER
72. Global Learning Charter Public School (1677) SILVER
73. Attleboro High (1707) SILVER
74. Stoneham High (1724) SILVER
75. Quaboag Regional High (1765) SILVER
76. West Bridgewater Junior/Senior (1777) SILVER
77. New Mission High School (1790) SILVER
78. Blackstone Valley (1877) SILVER
79. Mt Everett Regional (1901) SILVER
80. Hampden Charter School of Science (1926) SILVER
81. Chelmsford High (1965) SILVER
82. West Springfield High (1970) SILVER
83. Marshfield High (1979) SILVER
84. Academy of the Pacific Rim Charter Public School (2019) SILVER
85. North Quincy High (2073) SILVER
86. Monument Mt Regional High (2090) SILVER
87. Avon Middle High School (2303) SILVER
88. Medford High (2318) SILVER
89. Gloucester High (2331) SILVER
90. Edward M. Kennedy Academy for Health Careers (2365)
91. Joseph Case High (2643) SILVER

To determine the rankings, U.S. News teamed up with the social science research firm RTI International. A variety of data sources, including the Common Core of Data, College Board and the International Baccalaureate, were used.

A four-step process was used to rank all eligible schools. The first two steps were to determine whether students were performing better than statistically expected in the state and whether minority were performing at or better than the state average for minority students, which was the second step. The third step required schools to meet or surpass a certain graduation benchmark and the final step was to determine college readiness. (You can read the full methodology here.)

1. BASIS Scottsdale (AZ)
2. BASIS Chandler (AZ)
3. BASIS Oro Valley (AZ)
4. BASIS Tucson North (AZ)
5. BASIS Flagstaff (AZ)
6. Meridian School (TX)
7. International Academy of Macomb (MI)
8. BASIS Peoria (AZ)
9. Baccalaureate School for Global Education (NY)
10. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (VA)

Click here to see the full rankings and for more insight on the data.

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