NJ Has 103 Of America's Best High Schools In 2018, US News Says

More than 100 New Jersey schools ranked among the best in the U.S., according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2018 rankings of best high schools in the country. The highest ranked New Jersey school on the list was 22nd (see full list below).

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-three New Jersey schools received a gold medal, 39 received a silver medal and 41 schools received a bronze medal.

While Arizona schools dominated in the overall rankings, compared to other states, New Jersey's performance was ranked 17th nationwide by U.S. News while Arizona was no. 28. Pennsylvania was 14th.

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 New Jersey's schools finished according to place and medal in the 2018 rankings (national rankings in parenthesis):

1. High Technology High School (22), Lincroft, Monmouth County Vocational School District, GOLD
2. Bergen County Academies (43), Hackensack, Bergen County Vocational Technical Schools, GOLD
3. Bergen County Technical High School - Teterboro (58), Teterboro, Bergen County Vocational Technical Schools, GOLD
4. Biotechnology High School (66), Freehold, Monmouth County Vocational School District, GOLD
5. Dr. Ronald E McNair High School (68), Jersey City, Jersey City Public Schools, GOLD
6. Elizabeth High School (145), Elizabeth, Elizabeth Public Schools, GOLD
7. Union County Magnet High School (171), Scotch Plains, Union County Vocational-Technical School District, GOLD
8. Chatham High School (181), Chatham, The School District Of The Chathams, GOLD
9. Princeton High School (230), Princeton, Princeton Public Schools, GOLD
10. Academy for Information Technology (262), Scotch Plains, Union County Vocational-Technical School District, GOLD
11. West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South (264), West Windsor, West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District, GOLD
12. Ridge High School (318), Basking Ridge, Bernards Township Public Schools, GOLD
13. North Star Academy Charter School of Newark (346), Newark, North Star Academy Charter School Of Newark, GOLD
14. Marine Academy of Science and Technology (349), Highlands, Monmouth County Vocational School District, GOLD
15. Millburn High School (380), Millburn, Millburn Township Schools, GOLD
16. Montgomery High School (388), Skillman, Montgomery Township School District, GOLD
17. Highland Park High School (397), Highland Park, Highland Park Board Of Education, GOLD
18. Academy for Allied Health Sciences (413), Scotch Plains, Union County Vocational-Technical School District, GOLD
19. Alexander Hamilton Preparatory Academy (414), Elizabeth, Elizabeth Public Schools, GOLD
20. West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North (420), Plainsboro, West Windsor-Plainsboro Regional School District, GOLD
21. Summit Senior High School (437), Summit, Summit Public Schools, GOLD
22. Academy of Allied Health and Science (452), Neptune, Monmouth County Vocational School District, GOLD
23. Glen Ridge High School (460), Glen Ridge, Glen Ridge Public Schools, GOLD
24. Ridgewood High School (577), Ridgewood, Ridgewood Public Schools, SILVER
25. Haddonfield Memorial High School (597), Haddonfield, Haddonfield Board Of Education, SILVER
26. Mountain Lakes High School (641), Mountain Lakes, Mountain Lakes Board Of Education, SILVER
27. North Hunterdon High School (673), Annandale, North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regional High School District, SILVER
28. Bergenfield High School (707), Bergenfield, Bergenfield Borough School District, SILVER
29. Westfield Senior High School (770), Westfield, Westfield Public Schools, SILVER
30. Leonia High School (852), Leonia, Leonia Public Schools, SILVER
31. John P. Stevens High School (882), Edison, Edison Township Public Schools, SILVER
32. Mahwah High (901), Mahwah, Mahwah Township Public Schools, SILVER
33. West Caldwell Tech (926), West Caldwell, Essex County Vocational Technical Schools, SILVER
34. Kinnelon High School (941), Kinnelon, Kinnelon Board Of Education, SILVER
35. High Tech High School (1063), N Bergen, Hudson County Schools Of Technology, SILVER
36. Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School (1065), Scotch Plains, Scotch Plains-Fanwood School District, SILVER
37. Point Pleasant Beach High School (1078), Point Pleasant Beach, Point Pleasant Beach Board Of Education, SILVER
38. Ramsey High School (1119), Ramsey, Ramsey Public Schools, SILVER
39. Bergen Arts and Sciences Charter School (1149), Garfield, Bergen Arts And Sciences Charter School, SILVER
40. Hunterdon Central Regional High School (1181), Flemington, Hunterdon Central Regional High School, SILVER
41. Bridgewater-Raritan Regional High School (1293), Bridgewater, Bridgewater-Raritan Regional School District, SILVER
42. Liberty High School (1341), Jersey City, Jersey City Public Schools, SILVER
43. Parsippany High School (1356), Parsippany, Parsippany-Troy Hills Township Schools, SILVER
44. Montclair High School (1449), Montclair, Montclair Public Schools, SILVER
45. Cherry Hill High School East (1458), Cherry Hill, Cherry Hill Public Schools, SILVER
46. Infinity Institute (1595), Jersey City, Jersey City Public Schools, SILVER
47. Somerville High School (1613), Somerville, Somerville Public Schools, SILVER
48. Union County Tech (1620), Scotch Plains, Union County Vocational-Technical School District, SILVER
49. Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science (1661), Manahawkin, Ocean County Vocational Technical School, SILVER
50. Weehawken High School (1686), Weehawken, Weehawken Board Of Education, SILVER
51. Communications High School (1702), Wall, Monmouth County Vocational School District, SILVER
52. Fair Lawn High School (1717), Fair Lawn, Fair Lawn Public Schools, SILVER
53. Mount Olive High School (1767), Flanders, Mount Olive Township School District, SILVER
54. Dover High School (1774), Dover, Dover Public School District, SILVER
55. Fort Lee High School (1791), Fort Lee, Fort Lee Public Schools, SILVER
56. Science Park High School (1834), Newark, The Newark Public Schools, SILVER
57. Monroe Township High School (2060), Monroe Township, Monroe Township Board Of Education, SILVER
58. Matawan Regional High School (2066), Aberdeen, Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District, SILVER
59. Bloomfield Tech (2395), Bloomfield, Essex County Vocational Technical Schools, SILVER
60. East Orange STEM Academy High School (2431), East Orange, East Orange School District, SILVER
61. Central Jersey College Prep Charter School (2617), Somerset, Central Jersey College Prep Charter School, SILVER
62. Ridgefield Park Jr Sr High School (2638), Ridgefield Park, Ridgefield Park Township, SILVER
63. Academy for Law and Public Safety, Butler, Morris County Vocational School District, BRONZE
64. Academy for Mathematics Science and Engineering, Rockaway, Morris County Vocational School District, BRONZE
65. Academy for Performing Arts, Scotch Plains, Union County Vocational-Technical School District, BRONZE
66. Academy for Urban Leadership Charter School, Perth Amboy, Academy For Urban Leadership, BRONZE
67. American History High School, Newark, The Newark Public Schools, BRONZE
68. Applied Technology High School, Paramus, Bergen County Vocational Technical School District, BRONZE
69. Arts High School, Newark, The Newark Public Schools, BRONZE
70. Atlantic County Institute of Technology, Mays Landing, Atlantic County Vocational School District, BRONZE
71. Bard Early College High School, Newark, The Newark Public Schools, BRONZE
72. Bayonne High School, Bayonne, Bayonne Board Of Education, BRONZE
73. Bogota Jr./Sr. High School, Bogota, Bogota Public Schools, BRONZE
74. Camden County Technical School-Pennsauken, Pennsauken, Camden County Technical School, BRONZE
75. Carteret High School, Carteret, Carteret Public Schools, BRONZE
76. Cicely L. Tyson Community Middle/High School, East Orange, East Orange School District, BRONZE
77. County Prep High School, Jersey City, Hudson County Schools Of Technology, BRONZE
78. Dwight Morrow High School/Academies at Englewood, Englewood, Englewood Public School District, BRONZE
79. Foundation Academy Charter School, Trenton, Foundation Academy Charter School, BRONZE
80. Gloucester County Institute of Technology, Sewell, Gloucester County Vocational-Technical School District, BRONZE
81. Hackensack High School, Hackensack, Hackensack City, BRONZE
82. Hamilton North-Nottingham, Hamilton, Hamilton Township, BRONZE
83. Hammonton High School, Hammonton, Hammonton School District, BRONZE
84. Hc Computer Science and Software Engineering Academy, Frenchtown, Hunterdon County Vocational School District, BRONZE
85. Health Science Academy, Trenton, Area Vocational Technical Schools Of Mercer County, BRONZE
86. Jose Marti Freshman Academy, Union City, Union City School District, BRONZE
87. Lodi High School, Lodi, Lodi Public Schools, BRONZE
88. Manville High School, Manville, Manville Board Of Education, BRONZE
89. Memorial High School, West New York, West New York Board Of Education, BRONZE
90. Middlesex County Academy for Allied Health, Woodbridge, Middlesex County Vocational And Technical Schools, BRONZE
91. Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies, Edison, Middlesex County Vocational And Technical Schools, BRONZE
92. Middlesex County Vocational School Perth Amboy, Perth Amboy, Middlesex County Vocational And Technical Schools, BRONZE
93. Morris County School of Technology, Denville, Morris County Vocational School District, BRONZE
94. Newark Tech, Newark, Essex County Vocational Technical Schools, BRONZE
95. North 13th St Tech, Newark, Essex County Vocational Technical Schools, BRONZE
96. Passaic County Technical Institute, Wayne, Passaic County Vocational School District, BRONZE
97. Roselle Park High School, Roselle Park, Roselle Park Board Of Education, BRONZE
98. School of Health Science, Paterson, Paterson Public Schools, BRONZE
99. Somerset County Vocational Technical High School, Bridgewater, Somerset County Vocational And Technical Schools, BRONZE
100. Technology High School, Newark, The Newark Public Schools, BRONZE
101. Union City High School, Union City, Union City School District, BRONZE
102. Union County Teams Charter School, Plainfield, Union County Teams Charter School-High School/College La, BRONZE
103. West Morris Central High School, Chester, West Morris Regional High School District, BRONZE

Bronze medal schools are not ranked by U.S. News.

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.)

The top 10 high schools in the U.S. overall are:

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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