More Than A Dozen Of PA's Best High Schools Are In Chester County

CHESTER COUNTY, PA — Chester County has some of the best high schools in Pennsylvania, and high in U.S News and World Report rankings for PA this year are Conestoga and Unionville high schools, as well as Downingtown STEM Academy and Great Valley High School.

Conestoga High School in Berwyn was ranked fifth among high schools in the state, and right behind it was Unionville High School in Kennett Square, ranked 6th. Malvern's Great Valley High School was number 14 in rank, in the annual evaluation by U.S. News and World Report.

More than a dozen in Chester County were named in the state's top 100. Renaissance Academy Charter School in Phoenixville was 20th on the PA list, and Spring-Ford Senior High School of Royersford was ranked 31st. West Chester East High School was 36th in the state, Phoenixville Area High School was 43rd, and Downingtown East High School was 44th.

West Chester Bayard Rustin High School was ranked 50th in the state, and Kennett High School in Kennett Square was ranked 54th. West Chester Henderson High School was ranked 59th and Downingtown High School West Campus was 67th.

This year’s list ranks more than 17,800 public high schools throughout the country, and the top 600 nationwide included 15 schools from across Pennsylvania. Two from PA cracked the top 50.

The top-ranked Pennsylvania school was Philadelphia's Julia Masterman Academy, coming in at 18th nationally. It was followed by Downingtown STEM at 34th nationally but second in the state; these were the only PA schools ranked in the top 200 nationwide.

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, was ranked top in the nation.

Here are the top 100 ranked Pennsylvania schools in the analysis, which was released Tuesday morning:

1. Julia R. Masterman Secondary School, Philadelphia
2. Downingtown STEM Academy, Downingtown
3. Central High School, Philadelphia
4. Radnor High School, Radnor
5. Conestoga High School, Berwyn
6. Unionville High School, Kennett Square
7. Hampton High School, Allison Park
8. Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12, Pittsburgh
9. Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy, Erie
10. Lower Merion High School, Ardmore
11. Peters Township High School, McMurray
12. Wissahickon High School, Ambler
13. Harriton High School, Bryn Mawr
14. Great Valley High School, Malvern
15. New Hope-Solebury High School, New Hope
16. Strath Haven High School, Wallingford
17. Central Bucks High School-East, Buckingham Township
18. Mt Lebanon High School, Pittsburgh
19. Upper Saint Clair High School, Pittsburgh
20. Renaissance Academy Charter School, Phoenixville
21. Haverford High School, Haverford
22. Hershey High School, Hershey
23. Lower Moreland High School, Huntingdon Valley
24. Academy at Palumbo, Philadelphia
25. Pine-Richland High School, Gibsonia,
26. Fox Chapel Area High School, Pittsburgh
27. Pittsburgh Science and Technology Academy, Pittsburgh
28. Quaker Valley High School, Leetsdale
29. North Allegheny High School, Wexford
30. Central Bucks High School-West, Doylestown
31. Spring-Ford Senior High School, Royersford
32. Wyomissing Area Junior/Senior High School, Wyomissing
33. Council Rock High School North, Newtown
34. York Suburban Senior High School, York
35. Carver High School, Philadelphia
36. West Chester East High School, West Chester
37. Franklin Regional Senior High School, Murrysville
38. Upper Dublin High School, Fort Washington
39. South Fayette Township High School, McDonald
40. Central Bucks High School-South, Warrington
41. Penncrest High School, Media
42. Danville Area High School, Danville
43. Phoenixville Area High School, Phoenixville
44. Downingtown High School East Campus, Downingtown
45. Fairview High School, Fairview
46. Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School, Plymouth Meeting
47. Perkiomen Valley High School, Collegeville
48. Central Columbia Senior High School, Bloomsburg
49. Girard Academic Music Program, Philadelphia
50. West Chester Bayard Rustin High School, West Chester
51. Wilson High School, Reading
52. Abington Heights High School, Clarks Summit
53. Springfield High School, Springfield
54. Kennett High School, Kennett
55. Abington High School, Abington
56. Methacton High School, Eagleville
57. State College Area High School, State College
58. Hill Freedman World Academy, Philadelphia
59. West Chester Henderson High School, West Chester
60. Manheim Twp High School, Lancaster
61. Mars Area High School, Mars
62. Loyalsock Twp Senior High School, Williamsport
63. North Penn High School, Lansdale
64. Delaware Valley High School, Milford
65. Avon Grove High School, West Grove
66. Upper Merion High School, King of Prussia
67. Downingtown High School West Campus, Downingtown
68. Souderton Area High School, Souderton
69. Lewisburg High School, Lewisburg
70. Indiana Area Senior High School, Indiana
71. Penn Manor High School, Millersville
72. Susquehannock High School, Glen Rock
73. Camp Hill Senior High School, Camp Hill
74. Palmyra Area Senior High School, Palmyra
75. Garnet Valley High School, Glen Mills
76. Obama Academy (Pittsburgh Obama 6-12), Pittsburgh
77. Southern Lehigh Senior High School, Center Valley
78. Thomas Jefferson High School, Jefferson Hills
79. Council Rock High School South, Holland
80. Sullivan County Junior/Senior High School, Laporte
81. Neshannock Junior/Senior High School, New Castle
82. Springfield Twp. High School, Oreland
83. Mast Community Charter School, Philadelphia
84. Nazareth Area High School, Nazareth
85. Lehigh Valley Charter High School for The Arts, Bethlehem
86. Lampeter-Strasburg High School, Lancaster
87. Saucon Valley Senior High School, Hellertown
88. Freeport Area Senior High School, Sarver
89. Franklin Towne Charter High School, Philadelphia
90. Montoursville Area Senior High School, Montoursville
91. Parkway-Center City, Philadelphia
92. Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School, Bethlehem
93. Moon High School, Coraopolis
94. Boyertown Area Senior High School, Boyertown
95. Garden Spot Senior High School, New Holland
96. Seneca Valley High School, Germantown
97. Girls High School, Philadelphia
98. Riverview High School, Oakmont
99. Palisades High School, Kintnersville
100. North Hills High School, Pittsburgh

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

1. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology - Alexandria, Virginia
2. Academic Magnet High School - North Charleston, South Carolina
3. The Davidson Academy of Nevada - Reno, Nevada
4. Payton College Preparatory High School - Chicago, Illinois
5. School for Advanced Studies - Miami, Florida
6. Sumner Academy of Arts and Science - Kansas City, Kansas
7. Merrol Hyde Magnet School - Hendersonville, Tennessee
8. BASIS Chandler - Chandler, Arizona
9. Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology - Lawrenceville, Georgia
10. 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 2018-19 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.

Justin Heinze contributed to this report.