U.S. News & World Report ranks high schools

by designsforpod April 25, 2024

written by designsforpod April 25, 2024

U.S. News & World Report has released its ranking of the country’s top high schools, and nearly 400 Indiana schools made the rankings.

To determine its top schools, U.S. News & World Report pulled information from statewide standardized testing results, graduation rates, College Board and International Baccalaureate exam data and the U.S. Department of Education’s Common Core of Data.

In its review of about 25,000 public schools, 395 Indiana schools made the rankings. The top-ranked schools were found to have a high rate of students who scored above the average in math, science and reading assessments, passed college-level exams and graduated in four years.

The U.S. News & World Report’s annual rankings of high schools and colleges have long faced criticism for the method of ranking schools. For many states, the schools ranked at the top are in wealthier, whiter communities.

The top 10 high schools in central Indiana and the state also fall into this pattern.

Five of the top 10 best high schools in Indiana are located in areas where the median household income is greater than $100,000, far exceeding the state average income of $66,785, according to Census data.

The top three Indiana high schools all have student populations below 1,000 students and less than 20% of their students qualify for free or reduced lunch, according to IDOE data.

The state’s second-ranked high school, the Indiana Academy in Muncie, is labeled as a “public high school” but students who are residential pay up to $2,700 per school year for room and board fees.

The only schools in the top 10 list for the state that serve a population of 50% or greater students of color are Herron, Speedway and Munster High Schools.

Best Indiana high schools

Here are the Top 10 Indiana high schools, according to U.S. News & World Report:

Signature School (Evansville)
The Indiana Academy (Muncie)
West Lafayette Jr./Sr. High School
Zionsville Community High School
Herron High School (Indianapolis)
Carmel High School
Speedway Senior High School
Westfield High School
Munster High School
Fishers High School

Best Indianapolis area high schools

The site also broke down the best schools in some of the state’s largest metropolitan areas. Here are the Top 10 high schools in the Indianapolis metro area, according to U.S. News & World Report: