NYC's Top Public High Schools Are In New Jersey: Study

NEW YORK CITY — Only four of New York City's top ten public high schools are actually in New York City, education experts say.

Four New Jersey schools and two on Long Island top a new ranking of public high schools in the five boroughs released by the education website Niche.com.

The 2020 Best Public High Schools ranking relied on test scores, parent and student surveys and data from the National Center for Education Statistics and U.S. Department of Education, the surveyors said.

Stuyvesant — Manhattan's elite technical high school that also ranked the fourth best in the nation — topped the list, which also includes Staten Island Technical High School in fifth place, Queens' Townsend Harris High School in sixth and Bronx High School of Science at seventh.

Three New Jersey schools — Bergen County Academies, High Technology High School and Union County Magnet High School — beat out every New York City public school except Stuyvesant, the ranking shows.

Stuyvesant, Bronx Science and Staten Island Tech all require applicants take New York City's Specialized High School Admissions Test, which has come under fire in recent years over the schools' lack of diversity.

Department of Education data show only 10.5 percent of accepted students in 2019 were Black or Latino.

Top Ten Public Schools

1. Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan
2. Bergen County Academies in Hackensack, New Jersey
3. High Technology High School in Lincroft, New Jersey
4. Union County Magnet High School in Scotch Plains, New Jersey
5. Staten Island Technical High School
6. Townsend Harris High School in Queens
7. Bronx High School of Science
8. Biotechnology High School in Freehold, New Jersey
9. Jericho Senior High School in Oyster Bay, New York
10. Great Neck South High School in North Hempstead, New York

The city's private schools fared better with eight of the top 10 located within city bounds, one in New Jersey and one in Westchester, according to Niche.

But no private high schools Brooklyn, Queens or Staten Island made the cut.

Top Ten Private High Schools

1. Trinity School in Manhattan
2. Regis High School in Manhattan
3. Horace Mann School in The Bronx
4. Collegiate School in Manhattan
5. Brearley School in Manhattan
6. The Pingry School in New Jersey
7. Dalton School in Manhattan
8. Rye Country Day School in Rye, New York
9. The Chapin School in Manhattan
10. Riverdale Country School in The Bronx

Find out where the public and private high schools in your district rank here.