Northfield High School Ranked 27th Best High School in Minnesota

has been named the 27th best public high school in Minnesota—and the 986th best in the country—by U.S. News and World Report.

In the annual ranking of top high schools released Tuesday, Minneapolis Southwest, Edina, Mahtomedi, St. Louis Park and Eastview high schools were the state's top five.

Nearly 22,000 schools were evaluated across the country, with the top schools receiving gold, silver or bronze medals. Northfield was awarded silver. Medals were based on students' mastery of college-level material.

Northfield was lauded for its students ability to take Advance Placement courses and the AP participation rate at the school (35 percent).

U.S. News and World Report looked at how students performed on standardized tests versus others in the same state; how black, Hispanic and low-income students did relative to others; and how well a school prepared students for college.

Check out the full metholody.

Check out Northfield's U.S. news profile.

Follow Northfield Patch on Twitter | Like us on Facebook | Sign up for our daily newsletter

Check out other popular Patch articles: