Long Island places 20 high schools on U.S. News & World Report's annual list

Twenty Long Island public high schools are among the nation's 1,000 best, according to U.S. News & World Report’s annual list, released Tuesday.

Jericho High School, a perennial top finisher, led the list of local schools, coming in at No. 147 in the rankings.

There are 15 Nassau County schools on the list, including nine in the top 500: Jericho, Manhasset, Great Neck South, Garden City, Herricks, Roslyn, Syosset, North Shore and Great Neck North high schools.

In Suffolk County, two made the top 500: Cold Spring Harbor and Harborfields high schools.

This year’s "Best High Schools" edition ranked nearly 18,000 public high schools and included states that graduated the highest percentage of students. The data used was from the 2018-19 academic school year, and therefore was not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The top schools are those whose students earned outstanding scores in math and reading state assessments, took and earned a qualifying score in an array of college-level exams, and graduated in high proportions.

The methodology focused on six factors: college readiness; reading and math proficiency; reading and math performance; underserved students' performance; college curriculum breadth, and graduation rates. College readiness specifically measured participation and performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams.

U.S. News & World Report also looked at STEM qualifications, evaluating Advanced Placement testing participation and success in math and science exams. Three Long Island schools — Great Neck South, Manhasset and Great Neck North — ranked in the top 200 of best STEM schools.

Nationally, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, was the top-ranked school. Townsend Harris High School in Flushing was the highest-ranked New York school, at No. 12.

Last year, 19 public high schools on Long Island ranked among the top 1,000, with Jericho leading the list at 127.

"Families can use the Best High Schools rankings to see how schools compare at the national, state and local level on factors like graduation rates and college readiness," said Anita Narayan, managing editor of education at U.S. News & World Report.

By Joie Tyrrell

joie.tyrrell@newsday.com@JoieTyrrell

Joie Tyrrell is a Long Island native and covers education for Newsday, where she has worked since 1998.