Belleville, Nutley Named Among Top U.S. High Schools: U.S. News

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — Belleville and Nutley high schools have been named to a list of the "best high schools in the United States," according to a new ranking by U.S. News and World Report.

This year’s list ranks more than 17,800 public high schools throughout the country. Among those schools, Belleville High School was ranked nationwide at 8,981. Nutley High School was ranked at 4,273.

The purpose of the rankings is to provide insight into academic performance among underserved groups, showing how well schools are supporting these students, Anita Narayan, managing editor of education at U.S. News, said in a news release.

Families can also use the rankings to see how schools compare at the national, state and local level on factors such as graduation rates and college readiness, Narayan said.

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, was ranked No. 1 in the nation, as well as among magnet schools.

Here are the top 10 schools in this year’s national "Best High Schools" ranking:

• Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology - Alexandria, Virginia
• Academic Magnet High School - North Charleston, South Carolina
• The Davidson Academy of Nevada - Reno, Nevada
• Payton College Preparatory High School - Chicago, Illinois
• School for Advanced Studies - Miami, Florida
• Sumner Academy of Arts and Science - Kansas City, Kansas
• Merrol Hyde Magnet School - Hendersonville, Tennessee
• BASIS Chandler - Chandler, Arizona
• Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology - Lawrenceville, Georgia
• Signature School - Evansville, Indiana

The methodology used for this year’s ranking focused on six factors: college readiness, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth and graduation rates.

The data used in this edition is from the 2018-2019 academic school year and, therefore, was not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read more about the "Best High Schools" methodology.

In addition to the national rankings, U.S. News also published rankings at the state, metro area and school district levels. Only metro areas and school districts with three or more high schools were included in these subrankings.

BASIS Chandler in Arizona is at the top of the list for charter schools, and High Technology High School in Lincroft, New Jersey, is the No. 1 STEM school.

This article contains reporting by the Patch national desk

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