U.S. News Ranks Missouri Schools: How Did Yours Fare?

ST. LOUIS, MO — Metro Academic and Classical High School, a St. Louis magnet school, was named the best high school in Missouri, according to new rankings from U.S. News and World Report. Ladue Horton Watkins High School ranked second overall in the state, but first out of non-selective high schools.

“We know these rankings are only one measure of our school’s success. However, we have every reason to be proud of our students and staff districtwide," said Ladue Principal Brad Griffith. “This level of achievement begins long before our students enter our doors. It is a testament to the support of our parents, our teaching staff from kindergarten on, and a community that truly values education. We are proud to be the culminating point of that experience and are truly honored to receive this acknowledgment of our students’ dedication and hard work.”

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.

Of 495 Missouri high schools, 162 made U.S. News and World Report's rankings. Three Missouri schools received a gold rating from the group; 26 took home a silver, while 133 others earned a bronze. Overall, Missouri ranked 40 out of all 50 states.

“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 are the top 10 High Schools In Missouri, according to the report:

1. Metro Academic and Classical High School, St. Louis — GOLD
2. Ladue Horton Watkins High, St Louis — GOLD
3. Clayton High, Clayton — GOLD
4. Eureka Sr. High, Eureka — SILVER
5. Kirkwood Sr. High, Kirkwood — SILVER
6. Lafayette Sr. High, Wildwood — SILVER
7. Park Hill High, Kansas City — SILVER
8. Rockwood Summit Sr. High, Fenton — SILVER
9. Lindbergh Sr. High, St. Louis — SILVER
10. McKinley Classical Leadership Academy, St Louis — SILVER

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 were:

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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