Boston, MA– Schools are notoriously difficult to rank. Is Harvard really better or worse than Princeton? Probably not. However, these ranking do give us some sort of idea what tier certain schools are in. With U.S. News releasing new rankings for best public high schools in the country, take a look at how many from Massachusetts made it into the top 100, and how your local school fared against others in the state.
Top 100 USA
For such a well-known college city, it's quite surprising that Boston, and indeed all of Massachusetts, only boasts one public high school that made the top 100 in the United States. In fact, the runner up in the state comes out at #157 in the country. The best school in Massachusetts, and the 33rd best in the USA is... Boston Latin School! With a 20:1 student teacher ratio, BLS allows their students to take Advanced Placement courses and tests. The AP participation rate at Boston Latin School is stunning at 99%. But it's not just that which gives it the #1 rating in the state. The total minority enrollment is 53%. Not bad.
Top 5 in MA
The #2 high school in Massachusetts is Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School in Marlborough. Still an incredibly accomplished school, the AP participation rate is 84%. The total minority enrollment is 33%. With a 12:1 student teacher ratio, this is the first charter school on the list in MA.
At #3 for the state is Sturgis Charter Public School in Hyannis, MA. With a staggering 9:1 student teacher ratio, students begin International Baccalaureate preparation as freshmen and transition to the full IB curriculum their junior year. International Baccalaureate (IB) is an international program which offers a continuum of international education. If you study at Sturgis, you could transfer to any IB-accredited school across the country/the world and fit in seamlessly.
#4 is Lexington High. With a student teach ratio of 13:1, the AP participation rate at Lexington High is 68% and the total minority enrollment is 48%.
Finishing out our list is Boston Latin Academy, at #5 in Massachusetts. Not to be confused with Boston Latin School, BLA's AP participation rate is 94%, while the total minority enrollment is 71%, considerably the highest on this list.
If you'd like to check out where your public high school ranked, click here!
U.S. News rankings for public high schools were based on six factors: College Readiness, Math and Reading Proficiency, Math and Reading Performance, Underserved Student Performance, College Curriculum Breadth, and Graduation Rate.
Image via Flickr / Cliff
