List of top U.S. public high schools includes 23 on Long Island

Twenty-three Long Island public high schools are among the nation's 1,000 best, including 16 in Nassau County, according to U.S. News & World Report's annual list, which is scheduled for release Tuesday.

At the top of the list for Long Island again is Jericho High School, which climbed five spots up to 104. Jericho, with an enrollment of nearly 1,200 students, was Long Island's top finisher in 2022 and also is ranked the 13th best high school in New York State this year. Jericho high school students often take top honors in many national academic and science competitions. In June, Jericho had 15 co-valedictorians, each sharing the same unweighted GPA of 4.0.

The 2023 “Best High Schools” edition evaluated nearly 18,000 public high schools at the national, state and local level.

Along with Jericho, 15 other Nassau high schools ranked in the top 1,000, and all but two — Valley Stream South High School and Sanford H. Calhoun High School in Merrick — made the list in 2022.

After Jericho, the next four in Nassau are: Garden City High School (199); Great Neck South High School (205); Manhasset Secondary School (251) and Herricks High School (257).

In Suffolk County, seven schools made the top 1,000, and all but two — Babylon Junior-Senior High School and Earl L. Vandermeulen High School in Port Jefferson — made the list last year.

The top five in Suffolk are: Cold Spring Harbor High School (268); Half Hollow Hills High School East in Dix Hills (367); Harborfields High School in Greenlawn (373); Half Hollow Hills High School West in Dix Hills (561) and Babylon Junior-Senior High School (846).

None of the 19 Long Island high schools that made the top 1,000 list in 2022 fell out of the rankings. School officials could not be contacted before the release of the list on Tuesday.

The rankings are based on six factors: college readiness, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth and graduation rates.

“Having access to a strong high school program is paramount for students as they face an ever-changing world,” says Liana Loewus, managing editor of education at U.S. News in a statement.

“Making data on our high schools available helps parents ensure their child is in the educational environment that best sets them up to thrive,” Loewus said.

Just over 34% of the nearly 1,200 high schools in New York State were ranked in the top 25% nationally — the seventh most among states across the country, U.S. News found. Massachusetts ranked first, with more than 47% of its high schools in the top 25% nationally.

The Early College at Guilford in Greensboro, North Carolina ranked first among all high schools nationwide while the High School of Math Science and Engineering at CCNY in Manhattan beat out Townsend Harris High School in Flushing, Queens for the top spot in New York State.

Among STEM schools nationwide — in which major subjects are in the fields of engineering, mathematics, science and technology — Half Hollow Hills High School East ranked first on Long Island (97), followed by North Shore Senior High School (133) and Jericho High School (149).

Among magnet schools with specialized courses or curriculum, Sanford H. Calhoun High School, in Merrick, was top on Long Island (128), followed by Wellington C. Mepham High School in Bellmore (138) and Smithtown High School West (154).

With Joie Tyrrell

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.