Public School In Jersey City Is 'Best' In New NJ Rankings

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — As in past years, McNair Academic High School in Jersey City — a citywide magnet school — has come out on top on a list of "best" public high schools in New Jersey by Niche.com, known for its extensive rankings of colleges, school districts, and communities.

Two other Hudson County public schools landed in the top 100.

The company released rankings Tuesday that include updated data for 92,743 public schools, 30,112 private schools and 11,820 school districts nationwide.

What makes Niche.com different is that it combined ratings from current students, alumni, and parents with quantitative data.

High Technology High School in Monmouth County, a public countywide magnet school, is New Jersey's highest-ranking public institution overall, holding ninth place on Niche's list of the nation's top public high schools.

Two other Garden State schools occupy the top 20: The Academy for Mathematics, Science & Engineering in Union County (11th) and Bergen County Academies (15th).

However, most of the top public high schools are magnet schools with selective admissions.

Among non-magnet public schools, the top 5 are Princeton, West Windsor-Plainsboro South, Tenafly, West Windsor-Plainsboro North, and Millburn High.

Applying to McNair

Out of all public high schools in New Jersey, McNair came out at number 10.

McNair is a highly competitive public magnet high school that rejects the majority of Jersey City residents who apply.

Recently, Jersey City's school board proposed changing the admissions process of McNair and another school in the city to reflect more economic and racial diversity.

In this year's rankings, McNair received an A+ as its overall "Niche grade," as well as an A+ for teachers, diversity, and college prep.

It received a B+ for administration and a B- for clubs and activities.

Other Schools In Hudson County

The only other Hudson County public school to land in the top 50 is High Tech High School, a countywide magnet school, coming in at number 42.

Niche has also ranked town's public school systems, putting Weehawken at the top. Weehawken came in at number 87 in the top 100.

The First 25

Here are New Jersey's top public high schools, according to Niche:

1. High Technology High School (Monmouth County Vocational School District)
2. The Academy for Mathematics, Science & Engineering (Morris County Vocational School District)
3. Bergen County Academies (Bergen County Vocational Technical School District)
4. Biotechnology High School (Monmouth County Vocational School District)
5. Union County Magnet (Union County Vocational-Technical School District)
6. Academy for Information Technology (Union County Vocational-Technical School District)
7. Marine Academy of Technology & Environmental Science (Ocean County Vocational Technical School District)
8. Bergen County Technical High School - Teterboro (Bergen County Vocational Technical School District)
9. Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics & Engineering Technologies (Middlesex County Vocational & Technical School District)
10. Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School (Jersey City School District)
11. Academy for Allied Health Science (Union County Vocational-Technical School District)
12. Princeton High School (Princeton Public Schools)
13. West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South (West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District)
14. Academy of Allied Health & Sciences (Monmouth County Vocational School District)
15. Tenafly High School (Tenafly Public School District)
16. West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North (West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District)
17. Millburn Senior High School (Millburn Township School District)
18. Union County Vocational-Technical High School (Union County Vocational-Technical School District)
19. Marine Academy of Science & Technology (Monmouth County Vocational School District)
20. Northern Valley Regional High School Demarest (Northern Valley Regional High School District)
21. Northern Highlands Regional High School
22. Livingston Senior High School (Livingston Board of Education School District)
23. Ridgewood High School (Ridgewood Public School District)
24. Ridge High School (Bernards Township School District)
25. Summit Senior High School (Summit Public School District)

These are New Jersey's best private high schools, per Niche:

1. Princeton International School of Math and Science
2. The Lawrenceville School
3. The Pingry School
4. Newark Academy
5. Delbarton School
6. The Peddie School
7. Dwight-Englewood School
8. Kent Place School
9. Princeton Day School
10. Rutgers Preparatory School
11. Blair Academy
12. Montclair Kimberley Academy
13. The Wardlaw + Hartridge School
14. Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart
15. The Pennington School
16. The Wilberforce School
17. The Hun School of Princeton
18. Golda Och Academy
19. Ranney School
20. Morristown-Beard School
21. Pioneer Academy
22. Moorestown Friends School
23. Primoris Academy
24. Mount Saint Mary Academy
25. Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child - Upper School

See Niche's full rankings here.

Are Rankings Fair?

Niche said its rankings differ from others that rely almost exclusively on test scores and academic
performance in that it also includes input from students, alumni and parents, as well as quantitative data from sources such as the U.S. Department of Education to evaluate teachers, resources and facilities.

The rankings help parents make informed decisions on their children's education, according to Niche CEO Luke Skurman.

But high school rankings have their critics. In 2013, former professor and Atlantic writer John Tierney argued that high school rankings are "nonsense."

"Parents might be able to use that information to find an affordable residence near good schools, while still leaving themselves within reasonable reach of their place of employment," Tierney wrote. "It's harder to fathom the logic for ranking high schools nationwide. Few are the families who will move out of state or across the country on the basis of claims about school quality."

School ratings have the power to drive segregation, contends Jack Schneider, an associate professor of education at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

"There’s evidence that this is already happening via websites like GreatSchools.org and Niche.com," Schneider wrote last October for WBUR.

Find out more about the rankings and methodology here.

Editor Josh Bakan contributed to this report.