Best Public High Schools In Brooklyn

Best Public High Schools In The Us

thebestschools.org is an advertising-supported site. Featured or trusted partner programs and all school search, finder, or match results are for schools that compensate us. This compensation does not influence our school rankings, resource guides, or other editorially-independent information published on this site.

Bard High School Early College Queens

New York City Geographic District No. 24, NY,

9-12,

383 Niche users give it an average review of 4.2 stars.

Featured Review: Junior says Bard was created to combat New York’s deeply-segregated school system, so it provides great opportunities for low-income students. Students graduate in four years not only with a high school diploma…The literature and humanities programs are very eye-opening and life-changing. In the college program, they offer very interesting college courses such as anthropology, cinemas of South Asia,….

Read 383 reviews.

Student-Teacher Ratio: 13 to 1,

Alum: Class of 2019 Review:Pros:Academics – has a very academically stimulating environment – teachers push students to pursue their curiosities, particularly through the school’s science research and independent study programs.Clubs – there are a wide variety of clubs and extracurriculars supported by the school.Reputation – the school is very well recognized for its academic rigor by top universities.Cons:Competitive atmosphere – the competitiveness of the school’s students can be stifling at times, as it seems people care more about getting into college than the students around them.Stress – a natural product of the school’s atmosphere and academic rigor – it can be a very stressful environment at times.I overall did enjoy my four years at Greeley – best of luck to all incoming students!… Read 126 reviews

Diversity Total Points: 20

• Racial Diversity: Full Weight Note: This metric is based on the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index method, a commonly accepted measure of market concentration that also works effectively as a general-purpose measure of diversity. The racial categories considered are the following:
• American Indian/Alaska Native

Don’t Miss: When Did Michael Bloomberg Become Mayor Of New York

High School Math Science & Engineering At The City College Of New York

New York City Geographic District No. 5, NY,

9-12,

193 Niche users give it an average review of 4.1 stars.

Featured Review: Senior says HSMSE is a good school, I feel prepared for college and it has taught me a lot. However, I do feel like some teachers dont care as much as they should or dont treat us as well as they should. Good….

Read 193 reviews.

Student-Teacher Ratio: 15 to 1,

Senior: The High School of American Studies has created a rigorous academic environment in which students are pushed to do their best academically, striving for success on the daily. Teachers are always willing to help students with questions and test preparation, making it clear that they wish for each and every student to succeed. The history program is unmatched, as a curriculum of US History that would regularly take up one year is stretched into 3, allowing the students to truly learn the complexities of American history. Although the school is incredibly small, this acts as a positive in the overall experience. Students become incredibly comfortable with their peers and can easily trust anyone around them for help. The class size being small allows teachers and students to foster a closer relationship with much more daily specialized attention. The facilities are not exceptional in the high school itself, however the ability to use Lehman College’s facilities makes up for any faults…. Read 137 reviews

Carnegie Vanguard High School

Houston, Texas

Carnegie Vanguard High School, a community-centered magnet school, has a curriculum consisting of AP courses, pre-AP courses, and honors electives. Ninety-eight percent of its students gained admission to four-year colleges or universities, and 100% of its enrollees pass AP exams.

Graduation requirements include 100 hours of community service and taking ten AP courses. Carnegie Vanguard High School offers clubs focusing on community service and academics. Admission requirements require universal assessment scores, teacher recommendations, transcripts, and gifted or talented identification.

You May Like: Is New York Life Insurance Good

Bard High School Early College

Bard has improved my intelligence in a way Ive never before experienced. This school is an excellent academic and intellectual environment.

Bard High School Early College was given the following rankings:

• #17 Best College Prep Public High Schools in New York
• #19 Best Public High School Teachers in New York

Mission San Jose High School

Fremont, California

Mission San Jose High School is known for its talented and dynamic student body. These enrollees receive assistance from devoted staff members and dedicated parents. Students at Mission San Jose High become immersed in a challenging traditional curriculum that includes college preparatory, honors, elective, and AP courses.

Its “Challenge Success” program addresses students’ academic and social stresses. Additionally, 87% of its enrollees take advanced placement exams with a 95% pass rate.

Following graduation, 85% of learners enroll in four-year colleges or universities, and 9% enroll in community colleges. At Mission San Jose comprises, 94% of the student body consists of students from historically marginalized groups.

Read Also: How To Become A Kindergarten Teacher In New York

Liberal Arts And Science Academy High School

Austin, Texas

Liberal Arts and Science Academy, an advanced academic magnet high school, recruits academically advanced students from public and private middle schools in Austin, Texas. Ninety-five percent of its enrollees take AP classes, with a 96% pass rate. The admission rate to four-year colleges and universities is 95.5%.

Liberal Arts and Science Academy provides project-based courses that rely heavily on discussion, research, and seminar-style classes. The school delivers its collaborative Signature Courses as a cornerstone of its curriculum. Student groups research, design, implement, and present projects in the sciences and humanities.

Outside the classroom, Liberal Arts and Science Academy offers sports teams and clubs, including chess, debate, Future Teachers of America, and philosophy. Foreign language clubs include French, German, Spanish, and Chinese.

This school maintains competitive admissions based on previous accomplishments, test scores, and teacher recommendations.

Northside College Preparatory High School

Chicago, Illinois

This magnet school provides all core courses through honors and AP coursework. Its foundational courses include an integrated math program, colloquium, constitutional law, and literature and the arts. The courses use a block schedule, facilitating in-depth exploration and understanding of various subjects.

Students can also participate in study-abroad programs. This high school offers more than 50 clubs and activities and a full array of athletic teams. Economically disadvantaged students make up 38% of the student body.

Northside College Preparatory High School, a selective-enrollment institution, makes admissions decisions based on grades, standardized test scores, entrance exam scores, and socioeconomic status.

Read Also: How Often Does The New Yorker Come Out

Best High Schools In New York State: 5 In Cny Make Top 100

In this June 22, 2014, file photo, graduates gather before the Jamesville-DeWitt High School graduation ceremony at the John H. Mulroy Civic Center in Syracuse.Michelle Gabel | mgabel@syracuse

• Geoff Herbert | gherbert@syracuse.com

What are the best high schools in New York state? U.S. News and World Report has released its 2021 rankings of nearly 24,000 public high schools nationwide, including 1,281 schools in the Empire State.

Five schools in Central New York made the top 100, led by New Hartford Senior High School for the third year in a row. New Hartford ranked No. 67 across the state with a 100% graduation rate and a 59.2 college readiness score.

Other top schools in CNY include Ithaca Senior High School , Jamesville-Dewitt High School , Fayetteville-Manlius Senior High School , and Skaneateles Senior High School . All feature graduation rates of at least 94% and college readiness scores above 50.

Townsend Harris High School in Flushing, N.Y., ranked as the states best school and No. 12 in the U.S. overall. The NYC school boasts a 100% graduation rate and a 97.4 college readiness score.

City Honors School at Fosdick Masten Park in Buffalo is the highest-ranked in Upstate New York, at No. 20 statewide and No. 178 nationally. The small school of 610 students has a 99% graduation rate and an 87.7 college readiness score.

Top 100 Public High Schools in New York State

Being A Black Student At Tech

Diane Nunez, who is Black, and her son, Ricardo, 15, share a goal: to maximize his education and get him into a top college. His road was uncertain. He applied to the highly competitive Mark Twain Middle School and scored in the 97th percentile. The test cutoff was the 98th percentile.

When Ricardo was in seventh grade, Ms. Nunez received a guidance counselors email intended for another family. It mentioned a city-run tutoring course for the high school test. I thought, Wait a minute, Ricardo is smart enough for this, she said. Why isnt he getting offered this?

Ms. Nunez dug into her savings and enrolled Ricardo in a private tutoring agency favored by Asian parents. Ricardo understood the lost weekends of study it would entail. That was the most challenging academics Id ever done, Ricardo said. But I knew where I wanted to end up.

Once at Brooklyn Tech, he joined the Black student union. I dont feel like a minority, he said. We resist being pitted against each other at this school.

Rachel Germany, a social studies teacher at Brooklyn Tech who is Black, serves as adviser to that student union. She is moved by the struggles of all her students. I appreciate the diversity and love these kids, she said. Having said that, the dearth of Black and Latinx students in a public high school feels palpable and strange.

Tutoring is no replacement for identifying gifted students and placing them in accelerated classes.

Also Check: What To See In New York With Kids

Dr Ronald E Mcnair Academic High School

Jersey City, New Jersey

Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School offers AP and honors-level courses, with 100% percent of its students enrolling in AP courses. The high school features nearly two dozen AP classes, allowing qualified learners to earn college credits for specific courses.

Beyond traditional courses, the high school requires each enrollee to complete 50 hours of community service. After receiving their diplomas, 89% of students enroll in a two-year or four-year college within 16 months.

Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School offers extracurricular activities, including an academic competition team, cross-country, and track and field. The high school also features internal visual and performing arts programs. Economically disadvantaged students make up 47% of the student body.

The U.S. Department of Education recognized Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School as a Blue Ribbon School. The high school bases admission on PSAT scores, academic performance during middle school, teacher recommendations, and extracurricular activities.

Thomas Jefferson High School For Science And Technology

Alexandria, Virginia

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology was created in partnership between Fairfax County Public Schools and the business community to improve student education in mathematics, science, and technology. This high school serves as the regional magnet Governor’s School for Science and Technology in Northern Virginia.

The curriculum emphasizes STEM subjects, problem-solving, critical inquiry and research, intellectual curiosity, and social responsibility. Faculty deliver all courses at the honors, gifted, AP, and post-AP levels. Students must participate in AP classes, and the school features a 100% pass rate for advanced placement exams.

Students must participate in an activities period included in the instructional day. Learners can participate in any of 150+ clubs and activities. The school is one of the founding members of the National Consortium for Specialized Secondary Schools of Mathematics, Science, and Technology.

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology has very stringent entry requirements, including an entrance exam, a personal essay, recommendations, and a history of high academic achievement. Students’ demonstrated aptitude and passion for studies in the mathematical, scientific, and technological fields also factor into the admissions process.

You May Like: Where Can I Watch The Movie New York Minute

W 44th St Manhattanenrollment: 1509four

A creative curriculum and a beautiful, well-equipped building draw out-of-the-box thinkers to Hells Kitchen for one of the citys most popular high schools. Beacon, one of 38 New York high schools that uses performance-based assessments rather than state Regents exams to gauge achievement, prioritizes student choice along with high academic standards. Interesting elective classes like NYC in the 80s and Understanding China are offered, along with standards like Advanced Placement physics and biology. Beacons $88 million building, completed in 2015, boasts a sunny cafeteria, huge auditorium, two professional recording studios, music rooms to accommodate the schools 16 bands, a dance studio and art labs. Twenty Public Schools Athletic League teams make use of the spacious gym, and 95 clubs cover an endless list of sometimes quirky interests: Bollywood, Tarot cards, 3-D printing, underwater robotics and more.

College Readiness Total Points: 40

• 4-year High School Graduation Rate: Triple Weight Note: Graduation rates reflect how many students graduate from this school on time.
• New York State Common Core Regents Exam Scores: Full Weight Note: This is a composite metric referring to the share of students scoring at or above proficiency level for Algebra I, Algebra II, Geometry, and English .

Also Check: How To Ride The Train In New York

Are You Ready To Discover Your College Program

The best public schools in the U.S. prepare students for college and offer strong math and reading coursework, along with high graduation rates and gains amongst underserved populations.

The best schools in the U.S. offer students a pathway for academic and real-world success. Students attain the skills for academic research, peer collaboration, and technological innovation.

Good high schools provide dual-enrollment programs for college credit. They also have honors, advanced placement , and international baccalaureate classes. Good schools also emphasize science, technology, engineering, and math courses. The best schools in the U.S. provide counseling for college, financial aid, and scholarship applications. These schools also help students pursue internship and job opportunities.

Half Hollow Hills High School West

Blue checkmark.

Half Hollow Hills Central School District, NY,

9-12,

309 Niche users give it an average review of 3.9 stars.

Featured Review: Senior says I liked the overall interior of the school and the majority of my teachers were very nice and supportive! I felt like I could go to them if I needed help with something. There was also little to no….

Read 309 reviews.

Student-Teacher Ratio: 10 to 1,

Bard was created to combat New York’s deeply-segregated school system, so it provides great opportunities for low-income students. Students graduate in four years not only with a high school diploma but also with sixty college credits and an associate’s degree in the arts. The literature and humanities programs are very eye-opening and life-changing. In the college program, they offer very interesting college courses such as anthropology, cinemas of South Asia, philosophy in science fiction, and so on. Students often complain about the fast-paced math classes, but the teachers are very kind, caring, and will always offer office hours. It’s a small school and the students are mostly friendly and welcoming. The school is very welcoming to undocumented students, is LGBTQ-friendly, and accepting of racially and religiously diverse students. The workload is very heavy and will be stressful at times, but you have a great team to help you!… Read 383 reviews

#17 Best Public High Schools in New York.

Read Also: How Much Does A Paternity Test Cost In New York

An Uneven Playing Field

Little comes easy at a hothouse such as Brooklyn Tech. The weight of parental and teacher expectation make for much stress. Some fall to cheating some leave.

I got so much out of that school, said Zarnaab Javaid, who is of Pakistani descent and now at the State University of New York at Binghamton. What brings me hesitation is the sheer number of kids who were not happy.

Alumni and students alike harbor the sense that as hard as they work, they benefit from unfair advantages. They point to college-level course offerings and a handsome moot court for the law class, and the battered robotics lab that produces students who win local and national competitions. Most private schools have more plushly appointed facilities but not public high schools.

These students chafe, though, at the notion that their success can be explained away by saying, Well, Asian students test well.

You cant just say Asian people are culturally predisposed to more education, Mr. Javaid said.

These students voice a fear that harks back to earlier generations of working-class Jewish students who dealt with antisemitism. If officials toss the test and substitute portfolios, interviews and extracurricular accomplishments, it could be easier to dismiss Asians as faceless grinds, the students said.

Many immigrant working families dont have the time to get a portfolio together for their kids, said Ms. Germany, the social studies teacher at Brooklyn Tech.

Grand St Manhattanenrollment: 403four

Intense, demanding program produces graduates fluent in both English and Chinese, no matter which one they grew up speaking. Everyone gets a double language period daily, with native English speakers instructed in Mandarin, and vice versa English language learners make up about 20 percent of the student body. By junior year, all students are proficient enough to take classes together. Asian themes are woven throughout the college-prep curriculum, reflecting the schools ethnic makeup . Clubs, too, echo the students cultural heritage, with K-pop, taekwondo, and Lion Dance among the extracurricular activities on offer. Twelve PSAL sports teams are shared with the four other small high schools co-located at the Lower East Sides Seward Park Educational Campus.

You May Like: What To Do In New York At Night

Townsend Harris High School

New York City Geographic District No. 25, NY,

9-12,

661 Niche users give it an average review of 4.2 stars.

Featured Review: Junior says The townsend harris high school is an excellent source of rigor without the restraint of standardize tests deeming admissions. Not only does this school have an excellent collaboration of humanities….

Read 661 reviews.

Student-Teacher Ratio: 18 to 1,

Senior: After moving to the Jericho district from another country, I’ve been welcomed by the student body and faculties. A few of the newly arrived foreign students who came along with me had received sufficient English support, including extra time on tests etc. One of the first things I noticed about the school is the safe environment, where no fights or big incidents have ever happened over the school years. Nonetheless, I was surprised by the academic integrity here and how students are serious about receiving quality education and planning their future in colleges. Competiveness does appear generally, which can be a major stress factor for some students. The school district also has a great amount of resources that are provided to students, including field trips, various clubs, and even foreign country trips. However, students need to be prepared for outside challenges as they might have been sheltered in this “Jericho bubble”. Overall Jericho is a great district for students to grow in…. Read 173 reviews