Five of the 10 best high schools in the state are in South Florida. See the rankings

South Floridians, don’t fret. If your high school isn’t particularly great at sports, maybe there’s another reason you can brag about it.

That’s because five out of the top 10 high schools in Florida are currently located in Miami-Dade and Broward, according to the 2024 rankings released last week by U.S. News & World Report.

U.S. News, an well-respected online magazine that releases rankings on various topics including education, reviewed more than 24,000 public high schools in the 50 states and D.C., and ranked about 18,000 this year.

The rankings include traditional public schools, as well as charter schools — publicly funded and privately operated schools, and magnet schools — public schools that offer a specialized curriculum.

U.S. News experts evaluated six factors: college readiness, state assessment proficiency, state assessment performance, under-served student performance, college curriculum presence and graduation rate. For more details on the methodology, click here.

These are the 10 best public high schools this year in the state of Florida. All offer ninth to 12th grade, except for No. 8:

1. Pine View School

Pine View, located in Osprey and operated by Sarasota County Schools, offers traditional learning mixed with independent study, mini course and ungraded classes. Students must maintain a minimum grade point average and complete advanced foreign language courses to graduate, according to U.S. News. It ranked No. 18 nationally.

2. Millennium 6-12 Collegiate Academy

Millennium is located in Tamarac and operated by Broward County Public Schools. All of its student population — 90% minorities and 61% economically disadvantaged — take Advanced Placement coursework and exams, according to US. News. It ranked No. 41 nationally.

3. Westshore Junior/Senior High School

Westshore is located in Melbourne and operated by Brevard Public Schools. All of its student population — 33% minorities and 12% economically disadvantaged — take Advanced Placement coursework and exams,, according to US. News. It ranked No. 43 nationally.

4. Archimedean Upper Conservatory Charter School

Archimedean is located in Miami and part of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. All of its student population — 91% minorities and 3% economically disadvantaged — take Advanced Placement coursework and exams,, according to US. News. It ranked No. 51 nationally.

5. Stanton College Preparatory School

Located in Jacksonville and operated by Duval County Public Schools, Stanton honors, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate courses, according to US. News. It ranked No. 41 nationally. Students earn college credit through partnerships with the University of North Florida and Florida State College at Jacksonville. It ranked No. 55 nationally.

6. Edgewood Jr/Sr High School

Edgewood, located in Merritt Island and operated by Brevard Public Schools, dual enrollment and Advanced Placement classes. Students get a mentor, must complete a miminum number of volunteer hours each year, according to US. News. It ranked No. 57 nationally.

7. Marine Academy of Science and Technology (MAST@FIU)

MAST is located in North Miami and operated by Miami-Dade County Public Schools. All of its student population — 70% minorities and 41% economically disadvantaged — take Advanced Placement coursework and exams, according to US. News. It ranked No. 61 nationally.

8. Jose Marti Mast 6-12 Academy

Jose Marti is located in Hialeah, operated by Miami-Dade County Public Schools. It offers sixth to 12th grade. All of its student population — 96% minorities and 51% economically disadvantaged — take Advanced Placement coursework and exams, according to US. News. It ranked No. 63 nationally.

9. Design and Architecture Senior High School

Located in Miami and operated by Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Design and Architecture offers classes in fashion, entertainment tech, visual communications, fine art, architecture and industrial design, according to US. News. Students must perform in a student, go through an interview and present a portfolio and sketchbook to get in. It ranked No. 73 nationally.

10. Alexander W. Dreyfoos Junior School of the Arts

Dreyfoos is located in West Palm Beach and operated by The School District of Palm Beach County. About 98% of its student population — 53% minorities and 19% economically disadvantaged — take Advanced Placement coursework and exams, according to US. News. It ranked No. 91 nationally.

National rankings

The top high school in the country, according to U.S. News, is BASIS Peoria, a charter school for fifth to 12th graders in Peoria, Arizona.

The No. 2 ranked nationally this year is Signature School, a charter school in Evansville, Indiana, and the No. 3 ranked nationally this year is Tesla STEM High School, a public school in Redmond, Washington. They both offer ninth to 12th grade.

See the list of full rankings here.