Three Monmouth County High Schools Make NJ Top 20 List for 2014 Survey

New Jersey Monthly has announced the results of its 2014 survey of the state’s Top Public High Schools, and three Monmouth County schools have made the list. Morris County and Bergen County dominate the top of the list, with five schools each in the Top 20. The new #1 school is Chatham High School, which climbed from number 20 in the previous ranking, published in September 2012. Essex County and Somerset County have two each, and two South Jersey schools (one in Camden County and one in Burlington County) made the Top 20. (See list below.)

New Jersey Monthly publishes its list of the best high schools in New Jersey every other year. The rankings are compiled by Leflein Associates, an independent research company in Ringwood, New Jersey, and are based on data for the 2012-2013 school year reported by the schools to the New Jersey Department of Education (DOE). Among the factors taken into consideration are student/teacher ratio; student results on the SAT, HSPA and AP or IB tests; In keeping with changes in data provided by the DOE, this year’s rankings include two new factors. The SAT performance score for each school is based on the percentage of students scoring 1,550 or better on the annual tests, a benchmark the DOE says is “associated with
a high likelihood of college success.” Also, the Student Outcomes score includes “post- secondary enrollment,” a calculation of the percentage of students enrolled in a two- or four-year college at least 16 months after high school graduation.

New Jersey Monthly also ranked the state’s Top Vocational High Schools. The list reflects the emergence of a new generation of vocational schools that focus on STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) and are attracting many of the state’s brightest students. The #1 vocational school is Middlesex County’s Academy for Science, Mathematics & Engineering Technologies in Edison. Additionally, five tech-oriented Monmouth County vocational schools finished in the Top 10 of the chart.

NEW JERSEY’S TOP 20 PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS, 2014
1. Chatham High School (Morris County)
2. Haddonfield Memorial High School (Camden County)
3. Northern Highlands Regional High School (Bergen County)
4. West Morris Mendham High School (Morris County)
5. Millburn High School (Morris County)
6. New Providence High School (Union County)
7. Pascack Hills High School (Bergen County)
8. Glen Rock High School (Bergen County)
9. Marlboro High School (Monmouth County)
10. Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (Monmouth County)
11. West Morris Central High School (Morris County)
12. Holmdel High School (Monmouth County)
13. Ridge High School (Somerset County)
14. Moorestown High School (Burlington County)
15. Bernards High School (Somerset County)
16. Livingston High School (Essex County)
17. Tenafly High School (Bergen County)
18. Cresskill High School (Bergen County)
19. Mountain Lakes High School (Morris County)
20. Kinnelon High School (Morris County)

NEW JERSEY’S TOP 10 VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOLS, 2014
1. Academy for Science, Mathematics & Engineering Technologies (Middlesex County)
2. High Technology High (Monmouth County)
3T. Academy of Allied Health and Science (Monmouth County)
3T. Union County Magnet (Union County)
5. Marine Academy of Science and Technology (Monmouth County)
6. Academy for Information Technology (Union County)
7. Bergen County Academies (Bergen County)
8T. Bergen County Technical (Bergen County)
8T. Biotechnology High (Monmouth County)
10. Communications High (Monmouth County)

A complete list of the Top 100 public high schools can be seen at www.njmonthly.com.