Best high schools
Six of the state’s top-ranked campuses are in South Florida.
Six of the top 10 high schools in Florida are in South Florida, according to the 2018 U.S. News and World Report high school rankings, released Wednesday. Those six schools include five in Miami-Dade County and one in Palm Beach County.
Nationally, according to U.S. News, two of the 25 top ranked high schools in the country are in Florida. They are Pine View School, in Sarasota County, which was ranked No. 19 in the country, making it the highest ranked school in Florida, and Design and Architecture Senior High in Miami, which was ranked No. 25 in the U.S. It is the second-highest ranked school in the state.
U.S. News and World Report explains on its website that it takes into consideration four factors when grading the schools: performance on reading and mathematics assessments, how underserved students perform on those assessments, if the school’s graduation rate exceeds a minimum threshold of 80 percent, and whether students were prepared for college.
The rankings are culled from data on more than 20,500 high schools, the magazine says.
In Florida, the 10 top-ranked schools include:
Design and Architecture Senior High, Miami (#2 in Florida, #25 nationally)
International Studies Charter High School, Miami (#3, #26)
Archimedean Upper Conservatory Charter School, Miami (#5, #47)
Suncoast Community High School, Riviera Beach (#6, #61)
International Studies Preparatory Academy, Coral Gables (#7, #62)
Young Women's Preparatory Academy, Miami (#10, #73)
In Broward County, where there are 64 public high schools, the highestgraded high schools were:
Pompano Beach High School (#19 in Florida, #189 nationally)
Somerset Arts Conservatory, Pembroke Pines (#22, #218)
Cypress Bay High School, Weston (#28, #335)
Nova High School, Davie (#40, #527)
William T. McFatter Technical Center, Davie (#41, #536)
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Parkland (#53, #697)
Pembroke Pines Charter High School (#65, #811)
The U.S. News list is only one measuring stick among many when it comes to evaluating schools, and there has always been debate about whether metrics and data — much of it captured by standardized testing — can truly and accurately capture a school’s effectiveness, especially when much of what makes for a great school experience can be intangible.
In Florida in recent years, there has been a lot of talk among parents and state lawmakers about the sheer amount of testing, with some saying it’s time to cut back. In 2015, Gov. Rick Scott signed legislation to reduce the amount of testing, and while some applauded the move, some critics said that wasn’t enough, and it hasn’t stopped calls to reduce testing.