TJ High School Ranks First In Nation On 2022 Niche Rankings

FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA — Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, an admissions-based governor's school in Fairfax County, is no stranger to top rankings. On Niche's 2022 best schools rankings, the school was first in the nation on two lists.

Niche, a platform providing information on schools and colleges, released its 2022 best school district and school rankings on Monday. The eighth annual ranking looks at 94,491 public schools, 2,489 private schools, and 11,846 school districts nationwide.

TJHSST ranked first among 17,219 schools on the Best College Prep Public High Schools in America list. It also topped 8,246 schools on the Best High Schools for STEM in America list. Overall, it is fifth on the Best Public High Schools in America list and fourth for Best Magnet Schools in America.

On a state level, Richmond's Maggie Walker Governor's School beat it for first place in the Best Public High Schools in Virginia, Best Public High School Teachers in Virginia and Best Magnet Schools in Virginia. However, TJHSST took first on the state's Best College Prep Public High Schools and Best High Schools for STEM in Virginia.

TJHSST is often ranked the top high school in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. In 2020, the Fairfax County School Board adopted a new admissions policy for the school, eliminating the standardized admissions test and application fee, raising the minimum grade point average, and increasing the freshman class size from 480 to 550. The class of 2025 admitted under the new policy had increases in admitted Black, Hispanic and white students. Admitted Asian students declined but still make up the majority of students.

Niche's rankings also include school districts. Fairfax County Public Schools as a whole was named sixth-best school district in Virginia and sixth best for athletics. It's also the 11th best for diversity in Virginia, 17th best to teach in Virginia, 24th for best teachers in Virginia, and 33rd for safest school districts in Virginia.

Niche school rankings differ from traditional rankings by not relying solely on factors like test scores and academic performance. The rankings incorporate ratings from current students, alumni, and parents as well as quantitative data from the U.S. Department of Education and other sources to evaluate teachers, resources, facilities and more. Rankings are available on the city, DC metro region, state and national level.

Additional local school rankings can be found by typing in the school name on the Niche website. To see all 2022 school district and school rankings by Niche, visit www.niche.com/k12/rankings.