The Top 25 High Schools In Maryland For 2025-26: U.S. News & World Report

U.S. News & World Report has released its latest rankings on the best high schools in the country, and dozens in Maryland made the list.

The 2025-2026 Best High School Rankings, released Tuesday, includes specialized STEM and charter rankings alongside the traditional state, district and metro area categories.

Nearly 24,000 public high schools were evaluated, and nearly 18,000 were ranked.

The Maryland high schools cracking the top 500 nationally are:

• No. 125 - Eastern Technical High School, Baltimore, Baltimore County Public Schools
• No. 130 - Walt Whitman High School, Bethesda, Montgomery County Public Schools
• No. 191 - Thomas S. Wootton High School, Rockville, Montgomery County Public Schools
• No. 272 - Poolesville High School, Poolesville, Montgomery County Public Schools
• No. 274 - Western School of Technology, Baltimore, Baltimore County Public Schools
• No. 384 - Severna Park High School, Severna Park, Anne Arundel County Public Schools
• No. 394 - River Hill High School, Clarksville, Howard County Public Schools
• No. 402 - Winston Churchill High School, Potomac, Montgomery County Public Schools
• No. 488 - Barbara Ingram School for the Arts, Hagerstown, Washington County Public Schools
• No. 498 - Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, Baltimore, Baltimore City Public Schools

The top 25 public high schools in Maryland are:

1. Eastern Technical High School, Baltimore, Baltimore County Public Schools
2. Walt Whitman High School, Bethesda, Montgomery County Public Schools
3. Thomas S. Wootton High School, Rockville, Montgomery County Public Schools
4. Poolesville High School, Poolesville, Montgomery County Public Schools
5. Western School of Technology, Baltimore, Baltimore County Public Schools
6. Severna Park High School, Severna Park, Anne Arundel County Public Schools
7. River Hill High School, Clarksville, Howard County Public Schools
8. Winston Churchill High School, Potomac, Montgomery County Public Schools
9. Barbara Ingram School for the Arts, Hagerstown, Washington County Public Schools
10. Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, Baltimore, Baltimore City Public Schools
11. Richard Montgomery High School, Rockville, Montgomery County Public Schools
12. Marriotts Ridge High School, Marriottsville, Howard County Public Schools
13. Chesapeake Science Point, Hanover, Anne Arundel County Public Schools
14. Walter Johnson High School, Bethesda, Montgomery County Public Schools
15. South River High School, Edgewater, Anne Arundel County Public Schools
16. College Park Academy, Riverdale, Prince George's County Public Schools
17. Urbana High School, Ijamsville, Frederick County Public Schools
18. Century High School, Sykesville, Carroll County Public Schools
19. Broadneck High School, Annapolis, Anne Arundel County Public Schools
20. Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, Bethesda, Montgomery County Public Schools
21. Northwest High School, Germantown, Montgomery County Public Schools
22. Centennial High School, Ellicott City, Howard County Public Schools
23. Baltimore City College, Baltimore, Baltimore City Public Schools
24. George W. Carver Center for Arts and Technology, Towson, Baltimore County Public Schools
25. Liberty High School, Sykesville, Carroll County Public Schools

The 2025-2026 Best High Schools national rankings identify top public schools based on six key performance indicators, including student achievement on state-required assessments, strong graduation rates, and college readiness measures.

Schools are evaluated on how effectively they serve all students, including underserved populations, with college readiness specifically measured through student participation and performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams.

The rankings consider curriculum breadth and overall student outcomes as well. U.S. News worked with RTI International, a global research firm, to implement the comprehensive ranking methodology, using the most current data from the 2022-2023 school year.

National Ranking - Top 10

1. BASIS Tucson North (Arizona)
2. Signature School (Indiana)
3. Central Magnet School (Tennessee)
4. Davidson Academy (Nevada)
5. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (Virginia)
6. Albuquerque Institute of Math and Science (New Mexico)
7. Hass Hall Bentonville (Arkansas)
8. Julia R. Masterman Secondary School (Pennsylvania)
9. The School for the Talented and Gifted (Texas)
10. Aiken Scholars Academy (South Carolina)