How do South Carolina schools stack up in newest U.S. News rankings?

U.S. News & World Report recently released the newest national rankings of public high schools for 2023-24.

Of the top 100 high schools across the country, only one is in South Carolina: Academic Magnet High School in North Charleston, which is the eighth best in the United States. But several Midlands high schools landed in the state’s top ten.

Rankings are based on six different indicators of school quality: college readiness, college curriculum breadth, state assessment proficiency, state assessment performance, underserved student performance and graduation rate. The highest ranked schools, U.S. News said, are those whose students “demonstrated outstanding outcomes above expectations in math, reading and science state assessments, earned qualifying scores in an array of college-level exams, and graduated in high proportions.”

Top high schools in South Carolina

1. Academic Magnet High School (#8 nationally)
2. Charleston School of the Arts (#142 nationally)
3. Spring Hill High School (#738 nationally)
4. Wando High School (#886 nationally)
5. Mayo High for Math Science and Technology (#1,001 nationally)
6. Palmetto Scholars Academy (#1,117 nationally)
7. Fort Mill High School (#1,147 nationally)
8. Nation Ford High School (#1,201 nationally)
9. Chapin High School (#1,322 nationally)
10. Wade Hampton High School (#1,372 nationally)

Top high schools in Richland County

1. Dreher High School (#11 statewide, #1,579 nationally)
2. Blythewood High School (#19 statewide, #2,368 nationally)
3. Spring Valley High School (#20 statewide, #2,388 nationally)
4. A.C. Flora High School (#34 statewide, #3,138 nationally)
5. Ridge View High School (#65 statewide, #5,653 nationally)

Top high schools in Lexington County

1. Spring Hill High School (#3 statewide, #738 nationally)
2. Chapin High School (#9 statewide, #1,322 nationally)
3. Dutch Fork High School (#21 statewide, #2,444 nationally)
4. River Bluff High School (#26 statewide, #2,762 nationally)
5. Lexington High School (#32 statewide, #3,004 nationally)

This story was originally published September 7, 2023 at 6:30 AM.

Alexa Jurado

The State

Alexa Jurado is a news reporter for The State covering Lexington County and Richland County schools. She previously wrote about the University of South Carolina and contributes to this coverage. A Chicago suburbs native, Alexa graduated from Marquette University and previously wrote for publications in Illinois and Wisconsin. Her work has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists, the Milwaukee Press Club and the South Carolina Press Association.