U.S. News Best High Schools: Where Did Barnegat, Southern Rank?

BARNEGAT-MANAHAWKIN, NJ — Barnegat High School ranks 287 in the state and 8,871 nationally, and Southern Regional High School ranks 301 in the state and 9,803 nationally, according to the 2023-2024 Best High Schools rankings released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report.

Additionally, the Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science, the county vocational school located in Manahawkin, ranks 82 in the state and 1,760 nationally.

Families can use the annual rankings to compare schools at the national, state and local levels on factors such as academic performance, graduation rates and college readiness, according to a news release. U.S. News reviewed 25,000 schools and ranked 17,680 of them, including 399 in New Jersey.

The top 42 schools in New Jersey also cracked the top 1,000 nationally. All told, there were 476 Garden State high schools on the U.S. News list. All told, there were 476 Garden State high schools on the U.S. News list. Read more: NJ's Top 100 Public High Schools Ranked By U.S. News.

In general, the highest-ranked schools had students who performed well on state assessment for math, reading and science, U.S. News said. They also performed strongly in meeting the needs of underserved students, including those who are Black, Hispanic or from low-income households. The schools had a breadth of curriculum offerings and high graduation rates, and their students performed well on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams.

U.S. News said eleven of the top 20 ranked schools were charter or magnet schools.

In national rankings, the top five schools are, respectively: The Early College at Guilford, Greensboro, North Carolina; Signature School at Evansville, Indiana; The School for Advanced Studies in Miami; The Davidson Academy of Nevada at Reno; and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology at Alexandria, Virginia.