See Tacoma's Best High Schools: U.S. News

TACOMA, WA — General William H. Harrison Preparatory School has been listed as one of the top schools in all of Washington, according to a new national ranking by U.S. News and World Report, that makes it by far the highest-ranked school in Pierce County, but not the only one that U.S. News thought worthy of consideration. This year’s list of best high schools evaluated more than 17,800 schools nationwide, including hundreds in the Evergreen State.

The 2022 ranking of best high schools is intended to show how well the nation’s public schools serve all students, regardless of achievement level, by teaching them basic skills and preparing them for college-level work, according to a news release from U.S. News.

Families can also use the rankings to see how schools compare at the national, state and local levels on factors such as graduation rates and college readiness.

Eastside schools also cleaned up on the state-level rankings, claiming four of the top five spots on this year's list:

1. Tesla STEM High School (Redmond).
2. International School (Bellevue).
3. Raisbeck Aviation High School (Tukwila).
4. Newport Senior High School (Bellevue).
5. Bellevue High School (Bellevue).

Harrison Preparatory was not far behind, however, coming in 8th place overall. It was the only Pierce County school to crack the top ten.

U.S. News also ranked schools by district. Here's a look at the best schools in the Tacoma School District:

1. Science and Math Institute
2. Stadium
3. Lincoln
4. Wilson
5. Foss
6. Tacoma School of the Arts
7. Mt Tahoma
8. Oakland High School

This year, the top 15 schools nationally are in 14 different states.

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, was ranked No. 1 in the nation, as well as among magnet schools.

Here are the top 10 schools in this year’s national Best High Schools ranking:

1. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology - Alexandria, Virginia
2. Academic Magnet High School - North Charleston, South Carolina
3. Signature School - Evansville, Indiana
4. School for Advanced Studies - Miami, Florida
5. Payton College Preparatory High School - Chicago, Illinois
6. The Davidson Academy of Nevada - Reno, Nevada
7. Central Magnet School - Murfreesboro, Tennessee
8. The School for the Talented and Gifted - Dallas, Texas
9. Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology - Lawrenceville, Georgia
10. Julia R. Masterman Secondary School - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This year’s schools were ranked on six measures: college readiness, college curriculum breadth, state assessment performance, state assessment proficiency, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, underserved student performance and graduation rates.

The data used in this year’s ranking is from the 2019-20 academic school year. U.S. News adjusted its calculation of these measures to account for the impact COVID-19 had on schools in the 2019-20 school year.

Since most states closed schools for in-person instruction starting in March 2020 — typically just before most states conduct assessments — the U.S. Department of Education granted waivers allowing all states to forgo state testing for the 2019-20 school year.

To account for this, U.S. News relied on past assessment data from the three prior ranking years. Researchers also incorporated state science assessment data from the 2018-19 school year.

In addition to the national rankings, U.S. News also published rankings at the state, metro area and school district levels. Only metro areas and school districts with three or more high schools were included in these subrankings.

Signature School in Indiana is at the top of the list for charter schools, and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia is the No. 1 magnet school. The Davidson Academy of Nevada is the top STEM school.