Westhampton Beach High School Ranked Among Best In Nation: Report

WESTHAMPTON BEACH, NY

LONG ISLAND, NY — Westhampton Beach High School was one of 20 in Long Island — and only four in Suffolk County —named best high schools in the United States, according to a new ranking by U.S. News and World Report.

Westhampton Beach High School came in #90 in the New York rankings and #988 in the national rankings, according to the report.

"We are extremely proud that Westhampton Beach High School ranks among the best high schools in America. It is a credit to our community for its unwavering support of public education, as well as to our students, faculty, and staff for their hard work and dedication," said Westhampton Beach Union Free School District Superintendent Michael Radday.

This year's list ranks more than 17,800 public high schools throughout the country.

Among those schools, there were 16 from Nassau County, as well as the four Suffolk schools, that made the list. Jericho High School was the first local school to make the list, ranking at No. 15 in New York and 147 nationwide.

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 Long Island schools in this year's national Best High Schools ranking:

• Jericho High School (#15 in NY rankings, #147 in national rankings)
• Manhasset High School (#17 in NY rankings, #162 in national rankings)
• Great Neck High School (#21 in NY rankings, #188 in national rankings)
• Garden City High School (#27 in NY rankings, #250 in national rankings)
• Herricks High School (#33 in NY rankings, #276 in national rankings)
• Cold Spring Harbor High School (#34 in NY rankings, #279 in national rankings)
• Roslyn High School (#39 in NY rankings, #340 in national rankings)
• Syosset High School (#40 in NY rankings, #341 in national rankings)
• Harborfields High School (#42 in NY rankings, #369 in national rankings)
• North Shore High School (#47 in NY rankings, #430 in national rankings)
• Great Neck North High School (#48 in NY rankings, #444 in national rankings)
• Half Hollow Hills High School East (#53 in NY rankings, #502 in national rankings)
• Plainview-Old Bethpage JFK High School (#54 in NY rankings, #507 in national rankings)
• Half Hollow Hills High School West (#57 in NY rankings, #554 in national rankings)
• Wheatley School (#64 in NY rankings, #610 in national rankings)
• Paul Schreiber High School (#71 in NY rankings, #705 in national rankings)
• JFK High School (#77 in NY rankings, #836 in national rankings)
• Oyster Bay High School (#81 in NY rankings, #900 in national rankings)
• Valley Stream South High School (#83 in NY rankings, #927 in national rankings)
• Westhampton Beach High School (#90 in NY rankings, #988 in national rankings)

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.

Additional reporting by Priscila Korb.