Alexandria Schools Among Top Private, Most Diverse In Virginia: Niche 2023 Ranking

ALEXANDRIA, VA — Alexandria private schools are among the top in Virginia while its public school is among the most diverse, according to the Niche Best Schools rankings for 2023 announced Tuesday.

In the annual rankings, Niche evaluates 92,743 public schools, 30,112 private schools, and 11,820 school districts in the U.S., seeking to provide families with information on schools in their area. According to Niche, school rankings aren't solely based on academic achievement. The rankings incorporate reviews provided by current and former students and families. Schools are also graded in areas like extracurricular activities, resources, and facilities, teachers, school administration, diversity and more using data from sources like the U.S. Department of Education.

In the private school category, Episcopal High School was ranked as the fourth-best private school in Virginia. It was also ranked the top Christian high school in Virginia and second-best boarding high school in Virginia. The school received A+ grades in academics, teachers, clubs and activities, and college prep. A grades were given for diversity and sports.

St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School ranked 8th among best private high schools in Virginia and is the second-best Christian school in Virginia. The school received A+ grades for academics, clubs and activities, college prep and sports, A for teachers and A- for diversity.

Bishop Ireton High School ranked 38th among private high schools in Virginia but was ranked fifth among Virginia's Catholic high schools. It received an A+ in academics, A for clubs and activities and college prep, A- for diversity and B- for sports.

The city's only public high school, Alexandria City High School, was ranked fifth most diverse high school in Virginia. According to its school quality profile, student enrollment in fall 2021 was 41.1 percent Hispanic, 26.4 percent Black, 24.9 percent white, 4.5 percent Asian, 2.4 percent multiracial, and 0.2 percent each American Indian and Native Hawaiian. The high school was also named 15th of 31 Niche Standout High Schools in Virginia, which is based on factors like diversity, graduation rates and test scores for economically disadvantaged and minority students, and the quality of colleges students consider.

Full Niche school rankings are available here and can be searched by state and metropolitan area.