Massachusetts high schools relish in academic excellence. Massachusetts students currently lead the country in Advanced Placement exam scores and the Bay State is reported to have the highest education rate in the country. In the 2022 “Best High Schools Rankings” U.S. News & World Report unveiled which Massachusetts public high schools rank the best.
The website releases its nationwide and state-by-state rankings annually, looking at the best high schools in both the country and all 50 states as well as the top charter, magnet and STEM schools in the United States.
In collaboration with North-Carolina based research firm RTI International, U.S. News ranked and analyzed approximately 17,840 public high schools out of the nearly 24,000 reviewed during the 2019-2020 school year. They restricted the rankings to public high schools that had a 12th-grade enrollment of 15 students or greater or schools that had sufficient enrollment in other high school grades.
U.S. News did not collect data directly from the high school’s ranked. The website used information from the Common Core of Data, statewide math, reading and science assessment test — such as the MCAS — as well as information from the College Board and International Baccalaureate when creating the rankings.
The schools were grouped based on six factors: College Readiness (30%), College Curriculum Breadth (10%), State Assessment Proficiency (20%), Underserved Student Performance (10%) and Graduation Rate (10%).
“Massachusetts recommends that high school students follow the MassCore program of studies, which is intended to prepare them for college and the workforce. The plan recommends students take two years of the same foreign language, among other suggestions,” Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said. “Students are assessed in math, English language arts, science and history through the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System.”
Boston Latin School tops the Massachusetts best high school lists with a graduation rate of 98% and a 99.8 college readiness ranking. This is the second year in a row the high school took the top spot.
U.S. News also ranks Boston Latin School as the 26th best school in the nation.
Boston Latin is the oldest school in America, founded in 1635. Amongst the school’s alumni are five signers of the Declaration of Independence, including Samuel Adams, John Hancock and Benjamin Franklin.
Here are the rankings of the 25 best public high schools in Massachusetts:
- Boston Latin School
- Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School
- Sturgis Charter Public School
- Lexington High School
- John D. O’Bryant School of Mathematics and Science
- Boston Latin Academy
- Dover-Sherborn Regional High School
- Mystic Valley Regional Charter School
- The Bromfield School
- Weston High School
- Hopkinton High School
- Westwood High School
- Belmont High School
- Pioneer Charter School of Science 2
- Pioneer Charter School of Science
- Excel Academy Charter School
- Match Charter Public School
- Acton-Boxborough Regional High School
- Hampden Charter School of Science
- Medfield Senior High School
- Winchester High School
- Community Charter School of Cambridge
- Manchester Essex Regional High School
- Sharon High School
- Westford Academy
To see the full ranking of all the Massachusetts schools click here.
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