Here's Where Secaucus Ranks On U.S. News 'Best High School' List

SECAUCUS, NJ — This week, U.S. News & World Report released its 2022 rankings, listing nearly 24,000 high schools across the nation.

Schools are ranked on their performance on state-required tests, graduation and how well they prepare students for college. Here are all their high school rankings for the state of New Jersey.

And here's how Secaucus High School ranks, plus how High Tech High School compares. High Tech is the Hudson County tech school located by Laurel Hill where students have to apply to get in.

(Click on the school name to see their full profile):

1. High Tech High School is ranked 66th best high school in the state of New Jersey. Overall Score 91.67/100. The AP® participation rate at High Tech High School is 49%. The total minority enrollment is 71%, and 34% of students are economically disadvantaged. High Tech High School is 1 of 3 high schools in the Hudson County Schools of Technology School District. At High Tech, students:

• 49% Took at Least One AP® Exam
• 38% Passed at Least One AP® Exam
• 30% Mathematics Proficiency
• 85% Reading Proficiency
• 43% Science Proficiency
• 100% Graduation Rate

2. Secaucus High School is ranked the 197th best high school in the state of New Jersey. Overall Score 68.54/100. The AP® participation rate at Secaucus High School is 25%. The total minority enrollment is 62%, and 28% of students are economically disadvantaged.

At Secaucus High School:

• 25% Took at Least One AP® Exam
• 18% Passed at Least One AP® Exam
• 33% Mathematics Proficiency
• 67% Reading Proficiency
• 23% Science Proficiency
• 97% Graduation Rate

Read more: These NJ High Schools Are Among 2022's Best: U.S. News

But, U.S. News & World Report school rankings have their critics. James Fallows, a former U.S. News editor, even called them "meaningless" in an 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."

U.S. News, however, contends that the rankings help parents make better-informed decisions about their children's education.

"The goal is to provide a clear, unbiased picture," the report says, "of how well public schools serve all of their students — from the highest to lowest achieving — in preparing them to demonstrate proficiency in basic skills as well as readiness for college-level work."

Ninety percent of the rankings incorporate performances on AP and IB exams and standardized tests, while the remaining 10 percent is the graduation rate. 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.

Read more about the methodology here. With reporting by Alexis Tarrazi and Josh Bakan.

Related: Secaucus Teen Teaches Young Girls And Boys STEM At Town Library (April 6, 2022)

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