(NEXSTAR) – When it comes to the best public high school in the country, a newcomer from North Carolina has broken through the ranks, according to a new study.
Niche, a site that combines ratings from students, parents and alumni with quantitative data, just released its high school rankings for 2023 and found the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics to be the best in the nation.
The Durham school climbed steadily during the pandemic, ranked number 4 in 2021. It achieved second place a year later. See the top 10 public high schools below:
| 2023 Ranking | School | Metro Area | State | 2022 Ranking |
| 1 | North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics | Raleigh area | NC | 2 |
| 2 | Payton College Preparatory High School | Chicago area | IL | 6 |
| 3 | The Davidson Academy | N/A | NV | 1 |
| 4 | MA Academy for Math & Science School | N/A | MA | 3 |
| 5 | Northside College Preparatory High School | Chicago area | IL | 7 |
| 6 | Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy | Chicago area | IL | 13 |
| 7 | Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology | Washington, D.C. Area | VA | 5 |
| 8 | Maggie Walker Governor’s School | Richmond area | VA | 4 |
| 9 | High Technology High School | New York City area | NJ | 8 |
| 10 | Whitney M. Young Magnet High School | Chicago area | IL | 23 |
When it comes to private high schools, Phillips Academy Andover in Massachusetts is again ranked first, for the third straight year.
See the top 10 private high schools for 2023 below, and the full list for both public and private institutions.
| Ranking | School | Metro Area | State | 2022 Ranking |
| 1 | Phillips Academy Andover | Boston area | MA | 1 |
| 2 | Harvard-Westlake School | Los Angeles area | CA | 11 |
| 3 | Choate Rosemary Hall | N/A | CT | 3 |
| 4 | Phillips Exeter Academy | N/A | NH | 6 |
| 5 | Groton School | Boston area | MA | 5 |
| 6 | Trinity School | New York City area | NY | 8 |
| 7 | St. Mark’s School of Texas | Dallas-Fort Worth area | TX | 7 |
| 8 | The College Preparatory School | San Francisco Bay area | CA | 4 |
| 9 | Commonwealth School | Boston area | MA | 24 |
| 10 | The Nueva School | San Francisco Bay area | CA | 9 |
In 2023, many school districts will be juggling staff shortages as well as the ongoing presence of COVID-19, which continues to spread via highly transmissible subvariants of omicron.
While some districts are bolstering staffing numbers and installing new ventilation systems to minimize disruptions, the Associated Press reported that many others were sticking with same approach they had last year.
“We don’t anticipate significant changes to our plan; we don’t anticipate significant disruptions,” Charles Herndon, a Baltimore County Public Schools spokesperson, told the AP. “What we’re expecting to see is waves of COVID in 2022 and 2023, and I’m sure there are going to be times when more folks are going to be absent and there will be times when everything is OK.”
When it comes to the best school districts in 2023, Niche found that the top five are all in either Illinois or New York:
| 2023 Ranking | District | Metro Area | State | 2022 Ranking |
| 1 | Adlai E. Stevenson High School District No. 125 | Chicago area | IL | 1 |
| 2 | Glenbrook High Schools District 225 | Chicago area | IL | 2 |
| 3 | Great Neck Public Schools | New York City area | NY | 3 |
| 4 | Jericho Union Free School District | New York City area | NY | 5 |
| 5 | Syosset Central School District | New York City area | NY | 9 |
| 6 | Roslyn Union Free School District | New York City area | NY | 7 |
| 7 | New Trier Township High School District No. 203 | Chicago area | IL | 6 |
| 8 | West Lafayette Community School Corporation | N/A | IN | 14 |
| 9 | Palo Alto Unified School District | San Francisco Bay area | CA | 27 |
| 10 | Eanes Independent School District | Austin area | TX | 11 |
Education is top of mind for many parents worried that their children have to catch up after two years of remote learning, social isolation and various pandemic-related traumas like the loss of a loved one.
“Many students are having to relearn how to be with each other in person and in social and academic settings,” Wayne Au, professor of education at the University of Washington, Bothell, told The Conversation. “Moreover, students in low-income families are still trying to overcome the consequences of inequitable access to resources and technology at home during remote schooling.”
Choosing a new school has never been easy, but parents and children now have to do it in an unprecedented environment.
“Some of the biggest decisions that parents face have to do with their children’s education,” said Luke Skurman, founder and CEO of Niche. “We strive to put as much power in their hands as possible so they can make informed decisions with confidence.”
This is the ninth year that Niche has compiled the rankings, which it says are based on data compiled for 92,743 public schools, 30,112 private schools and 11,820 school districts nationwide.