Maryland's Best High Schools: New Rankings Released

MARYLAND — Several schools in Maryland are among America’s best, according to rankings released Tuesday by the education platform Niche.

The new 2023 Best Schools and Districts rankings provide insight for parents on 92,743 public schools, 30,112 private schools and 11,820 school districts nationwide.

Here are the top 25 public high schools in Maryland according to Niche:

1. Poolesville High School, Montgomery County Public Schools
2. Walt Whitman High School, Montgomery County Public Schools
3. Marriotts Ridge High School, Howard County Public Schools
4. Winston Churchill High School, Montgomery County Public Schools
5. River Hill High School, Howard County Public Schools
6. Richard Montgomery High School, Montgomery County Public Schools
7. Thomas S. Wootton High School, Montgomery County Public Schools
8. Walter Johnson High School, Montgomery County Public Schools
9. Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School, Montgomery County Public Schools
10. Centennial High School, Howard County Public Schools
11. Montgomery Blair High School, Montgomery County Public Schools
12. Urbana High School, Frederick County Public Schools
13. Mount Hebron High School, Howard County Public Schools
14. Eastern Technical High School, Baltimore County Public Schools
15. Atholton High School, Howard County Public Schools
16. Northwest High School, Montgomery County Public Schools
17. Glenelg High School, Howard County Public Schools
18. Quince Orchard High School, Montgomery County Public Schools
19. Dulaney High School, Baltimore County Public Schools
20. Western School of Technology & Environmental Science, Baltimore County Public Schools
21. Howard High School, Howard County Public Schools
22. Century High School, Carroll County Public Schools
23. Sherwood High School, Montgomery County Public Schools
24. Reservoir High School, Howard County Public Schools
25. Oakdale High School, Howard County Public Schools

Here are the top 25 private high schools in Maryland, according to Niche:

1. Holton-Arms School, Bethesda
2. The Bryn Mawr School, Baltimore
3. Landon School, Bethesda
4. Gilman School, Baltimore
5. Georgetown Preparatory School, North Bethesda
6. Rochambeau The French International School, Bethesda
7. Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart, Bethesda
8. Key School, Annapolis
9. McDonogh School, Owings Mills
10. St. Timothy's School, Stevenson
11. Bullis School, Potomac
12. The Park School of Baltimore
13. Saint James School, Hagerstown
14. St. Andrew's Episcopal School, Potomac
15. Friends School of Baltimore
16. Garrison Forest School, Owings Mills
17. Sandy Spring Friends School, Sandy Spring
18. Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, Olney
19. Glenelg Country School, Ellicott City
20. Severn School, Severna Park
21. The Heights School, Potomac
22. Roland Park Country School, Baltimore
23. Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, Rockville
24. St. Paul's School for Boys, Broolandville
25. The Academy of the Holy Cross, Kensington

You can view the full rankings here.

Poolesville High School in Montgomery County was not only the top school in Maryland but it ranked as the 35th among public high schools across the U.S. Maryland's top private high school, Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, ranked 93rd among the best private schools in America.

Niche said its rankings differ from others that rely almost exclusively on test scores and academic performance in that it also includes input from students, alumni and parents, as well as quantitative data from sources such as the U.S. Department of Education to evaluate teachers, resources and facilities.

Niche named the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, North Carolina, the top public school. Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, is the best private school.

Niche said its rankings were created to provide families with valuable information — both quantitative and qualitative — on schools in their area or in a neighborhood they’re not familiar with yet.

As in previous years, the Best Schools rankings include categories for boarding, charter and magnet schools as well as schools for STEM and the arts among many others.

Check back with Patch this week for coverage on Maryland’s best school districts.