U.S. News Best High Schools: Where Did Chatham Rank?

CHATHAM, NJ — Chatham High School ranks 21 in the state and 475 nationally, according to the 2023-2024 Best High Schools rankings released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report.

Families are able to use the annual rankings to compare schools at the national, state and local levels on factors such as academic performance, graduation rates and college readiness, according to a news release.

The news organization evaluated 25,000 schools and ranked 17,680 of them, including 476 in New Jersey.

• Related article: NJ's Top 100 Public High Schools Ranked By U.S. News

According to U.S. News, the highest-ranked schools had pupils who fared well on state assessments in math, reading, and science. They also excelled in meeting the needs of underserved pupils, such as those who are Black, Hispanic, or came from low-income families.

The schools had a breadth of curriculum offerings and high graduation rates, and their students performed well on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams. View the methodology here.

Looking at some of the local numbers, Chatham High School's participation rate in Advanced Placement coursework and exams is 75 percent. The total minority enrollment is 22 percent, and 1 percent of students are economically disadvantaged, according to the report.

The top 42 schools in New Jersey also cracked the top 1,000 nationally. All told, there were 476 Garden State high schools on the U.S. News list.

To see the top 100 public high schools in New Jersey, click here.

U.S. News school rankings have their critics. James Fallows, a former U.S. News editor, even called them "meaningless" in a 2021 interview with NPR.

"The reason they started doing it back in the early 1980s under the guidance of a man named Mel Elfin, was because it was a brilliant business strategy," Fallows said. "By appealing to the human desire for rankings and knowing where you stand and where somebody else stands, they were able to make a very strong part of their business, which is now basically the only part of their business."

Nevertheless, according to U.S. News, the thorough data enables parents to make more informed judgments and assessments about their child's educational needs.

"Having access to a strong high school program is paramount for students as they face an ever-changing world," Liana Loewus, managing editor of education at U.S. News, said in a news release. "Making data on our high schools available helps parents ensure their child is in the educational environment that best sets them up to thrive."

In national rankings, the top five schools are, respectively: The Early College at Guilford, Greensboro, North Carolina; Signature School at Evansville, Indiana; The School for Advanced Studies in Miami; The Davidson Academy of Nevada at Reno; and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology at Alexandria, Virginia.