These Are The Best Public High Schools In VA For 2026-27: U.S. News

Twenty public high schools in Virginia earned the highest spots in the state in U.S. News & World Report’s 2026-2027 Best High Schools.

U.S. News evaluated about 27,000 eligible public high schools nationwide and ranked nearly 18,000 of them.

Here are the top 20 high schools in Virginia, along with their national rankings:

1. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Alexandria — No. 6 nationally
2. Open High School, Richmond — No. 34 nationally
3. Richmond Community High School — No. 140 nationally
4. Langley High School, McLean — No. 141 nationally
5. Meridian High School, Falls Church — No. 171 nationally
6. McLean High School, McLean — No. 195 nationally
7. Woodson High School, Fairfax — No. 311 nationally
8. Oakton High School, Vienna — No. 345 nationally
9. Marshall High School, Falls Church — No. 366 nationally
10. Green Run Collegiate, Virginia Beach — No. 396 nationally
11. Madison High School, Vienna — No. 520 nationally
12. West Springfield High School, Springfield — No. 524 nationally
13. Yorktown High School, Arlington — No. 572 nationally
14. Deep Run High School, Glen Allen — No. 580 nationally
15. Community Lab School, Charlottesville — No. 605 nationally
16. Briar Woods High School, Ashburn — No. 672 nationally
17. Blacksburg High School, Blacksburg — No. 793 nationally
18. Chantilly High School, Chantilly — No. 814 nationally
19. Independence High School, Ashburn — No. 902 nationally
20. Rock Ridge High School, Ashburn — No. 976 nationally

The rankings are based on six performance measures, including student achievement on state-required assessments, graduation rates and college readiness.

U.S. News also considers how well schools serve underserved students, participation and performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams, curriculum breadth and overall student outcomes.

The rankings use data from the 2023-2024 school year and were produced in collaboration with the research firm RTI International.

Massachusetts had the largest share of high schools ranked in the top 25 percent nationally, at 47 percent, followed by New Jersey at 44 percent and Maryland at 43 percent.

Among metropolitan areas with a significant number of ranked schools, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California, had the largest share in the national top quarter, at 60 percent. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas, followed at 59 percent, and Milwaukee-Waukesha, Wisconsin, at 56 percent.

Central Magnet School in Tennessee topped the national ranking, followed by Signature School in Indiana and Julia R. Masterman Secondary School in Pennsylvania.

Signature School also ranked first among charter schools. High Technology High School in New Jersey ranked first among STEM high schools.

The full rankings are available at U.S. News & World Report.