Cherry Hill East Among NJ's Best In High Schools Rankings By U.S. News

CHERRY HILL, NJ — Cherry Hill High School East ranks 77th in the state and 1,651st nationally, according to the 2023-2024 Best High Schools rankings released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report.

U.S. News designs the annual rankings to help families compare schools at the national, state and local levels on factors such as academic performance, graduation rates and college readiness. The media outlet reviewed 25,000 schools and ranked 17,680 of them, including 476 in New Jersey.

Meanwhile, Cherry Hill High School West ranks 223rd in the Garden State and No. 6,521 nationally, according to U.S. News. Although Cherry Hill West holds a lower ranking among the township's high schools, the institution is still in the 63rd percentile among high schools, according to U.S. News.

• Related article: 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. View the methodology here.

Socioeconomic factors, such as the rate of students from underserved demographics, can significantly impact U.S. News ratings, which heavily prioritize testing results.

In the 2020-21 school year, only 10 percent of Cherry Hill East's students were economically disadvantaged, while 8 percent were Hispanic and 6.6 percent were Black, according to U.S. News data. Cherry Hill West, meanwhile, had significantly higher rates of students who were economically disadvantaged (23 percent), Hispanic (22.1 percent) and/or Black (12.2 percent).

The performance of students in underserved demographics accounts for 10 percent of the U.S. News scores. But 80 percent of each score involves testing results that don't take socioeconomic factors into account.

U.S. News school rankings have their critics. James Fallows, a former U.S. News editor, even called them "meaningless" in a 2021 interview with NPR.

"The reason they started doing it back in the early 1980s under the guidance of a man named Mel Elfin, was because it was a brilliant business strategy," Fallows said. "By appealing to the human desire for rankings and knowing where you stand and where somebody else stands, they were able to make a very strong part of their business, which is now basically the only part of their business."

However, U.S. News says that the comprehensive data allows parents to make better-informed decisions and assessments regarding their child's education.

"Having access to a strong high school program is paramount for students as they face an ever-changing world," Liana Loewus, managing editor of education at U.S. News, said in a news release. "Making data on our high schools available helps parents ensure their child is in the educational environment that best sets them up to thrive."

U.S. News gave each high school an overall percentile score between 0 and 100. Here's how Cherry Hill's fared.

Cherry Hill High School East

All rankings:

• 1,651st nationally
• 77th among New Jersey high schools
• 41st among high schools in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area

Scorecard: 90.66 out of 100

• 51 percent took at least one AP exam
• 45 percent passed at least one AP exam
• 53 percent mathematics proficiency
• 77 percent reading proficiency
• 37 percent science proficiency
• 97 percent graduation rate

Cherry Hill High School West

All rankings:

• 6,521nd nationally
• 223rd among New Jersey high schools
• 104th among high schools in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area

Scorecard: 63.12 out of 100

• 32 percent took at least one AP exam
• 25 percent passed at least one AP exam
• 21 percent mathematics proficiency
• 55 percent reading proficiency
• 18 percent science proficiency
• 91 percent graduation rate