Back To School 2023-24: See PA's Best High Schools In Recent Rankings

PENNSYLVANIA — High schools around Pennsylvania are welcoming, or preparing to welcome, their students back to class for the 2023-24 school year.

Proud parents, students, and alumni might claim their school is the best of the best— and some of them have the evidence to back it up, according to the rankings of the best high schools in Pennsylvania from Niche.com and U.S. News and World Report.

In fact, a few public high schools in the Keystone State are among the best in the nation — rankings from U.S. News and World Report had the Julia R. Masterman Secondary School in Philadelphia and Downington STEM Academy among the top 100 schools in the United States.

The publishing company also ranked the best public and private schools in the state, based on six measures: college readiness, college curriculum breadth, state assessment performance, state assessment proficiency, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, underserved student performance and graduation rates.

Here are the 25 best public high schools in Pennsylvania according to U.S. News and World Report:

1. Julia Masterman, Philadelphia
2. Downington STEM Academy, Downington
3. Radnor High School, Radnor
4. Conestoga High School, Berwyn
5. Central High School, Philadelphia
6. Unionville High School, Kennett Square
7. Peters Township High School, McMurrary
8. Central Bucks High School East, Doylestown
9. Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12, Pittsburgh
10. New Hope-Solebury High School, New Hope
11. Academy at Palumbo, Philadelphia
12. Hershey High School, Hershey
13. Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy, Erie
14. Upper Saint Clair High School, Pittsburgh
15. Hampton High School, Allison Park
16. Lower Merion High School, Ardmore
17. Lower Moreland High School, Huntingdon Valley
18. Wissahickson High School, Ambler
19. Great Valley High School, Malvern
20. Fox Chapel Area High School, Pittsburgh
21. Strath Haven High School, Wallingford
22. Harriton High School, Rosemont
23. Haverford High School, Havertown
24. Mt. Lebanon High School, Pittsburgh
25. Renaissance Academy Charter School, Phoenixville

Niche — a website known for its extensive rankings of schools, universities and communities — has rankings that include data for 92,743 public schools, 30,112 private schools and 11,820 school districts nationwide. The platform combined user input — ratings from current students, alumni and parents — with quantitative data.

And, Niche rankings also include private schools.

Here are the top 25 public high schools in Pennsylvania, according to Niche:

1. Julia Masterman, Philadelphia
2. Conestoga Senior High School, Berwyn
3. Radnor Senior High School, Radnor
4. Downingtown STEM, Downingtown
5. Lower Merion High School, Lower Merion
6. Harriton Senior High School, Lower Merion
7. North Allegheny High School, Wexford
8. Central High School, Philadelphia
9. Unionville High School, Kennett Square
10. Strath Haven High School, Wallingford
11. Fox Chapel Area High School, O'Hara
12. Central Bucks High School East, Doylestown
13. Upper St. Clair High School, Pittsburgh
14. Mt. Lebanon Senior High School, Pittsburgh
15. Great Valley High School, Malvern
16. Wissahickon Senior High School, Ambler
17. State College Area High School, State College
18. Hershey High School, Hershey
19. Central Bucks High School West, Doylestown
20. Bayard Rustin High School, West Chester
21. Garnet Valley High School, Glen Mills
22. Upper Dublin High School, Upper Dublin
23. Central Bucks High School South, Warrington
24. Plymouth-Whitemarsh Senior High School, Plymouth Meeting
25. North Penn Senior High School, Lansdale

Here are the top 25 private high schools in Pennsylvania, according to Niche:

1. Germantown Friends School, Philadelphia
2. Mercersburg Academy, Mercersburg
3. Episcopal Academy, Newtown Square
4. Baldwin School, Bryn Mawr
5. Hill School, Pottstown
6. Haverford School, Haverford
7. Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy, Bryn Mawr
8. Friends Central School, Wynnewood
9. Shady Side Academy, Pittsburgh
10. Linden Hall, Lititz
11. George School, Newtown
12. Winchester Thurston School, Pittsburgh
13. Moravian Academy, Bethlehem
14. Grier School, Birmingham
15. Shipley School, Bryn Mawr
16. Westtown School, West Chester
17. Germantown Academy, Fort Washington
18. Friends Select School, Philadelphia
19. William Penn Charter School, Philadelphia
20. Sewickley Academy, Sewickley
21. Agnes Irwin School, Rosemont
22. Wyoming Seminary College Preparatory School, Kingston
23. Ellis School, Pittsburgh
24. Abington Friends, Jenkintown
25. Malvern Preparatory School, Malvern