U.S. News & World Report just released its 2025-26 best public high schools rankings for the nation, and several schools in Tennessee are high on the list — including three that made the top 50.
U.S. News considered nearly 24,000 public high schools for this year's list and ultimately ranked roughly 18,000 of them, according to an Aug. 19 news release. The media company worked with RTI, a nonprofit global social science research firm, to compile the rankings. They considered key factors like college readiness measures, advanced academic offerings, state assessment performance, underserved student support and graduation rates.
From last year: US News & World Report ranks top Tennessee high schools for 2024. Is your school listed?
"Students and families need data to help them make one of the most important decisions of their academic journey," U.S. News Managing Editor for Education LaMont Jones said in the release. "Our Best High Schools rankings provide the insights to help them identify schools that will prepare students for college success. Access to information isn't just helpful — it's essential for planning a student's future."
Here's how the rankings break down for Tennessee.
See last year's rankings: Three Nashville-area high schools made the top 100
Top 10 public high schools in Tennessee
The top 10 public high schools in Tennessee represent a mixture of traditional, magnet and charter schools across the state's Middle and East regions. All 10 also ranked in the top 450 nationwide.
While magnet schools are public, they offer special programs and classes that may not be available in other public schools. They also have an application process and may have academic or other requirements for students who wish to enroll.
Six of the state's top 10 high schools are magnets. The top four are all magnets with academic or other requirements to enroll.
Central Magnet High School, Murfreesboro (No. 3 nationally)**
Hume-Fogg Magnet High School, Nashville (No. 35 nationally)**
Merrol Hyde Magnet School, Hendersonville (No. 39 nationally)**
Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet School, Nashville (No. 93 nationally)**
Brentwood High School, Brentwood (No. 259 nationally)
L&N STEM Academy, Knoxville (No. 310 nationally)*
Valor Flagship High School, Nashville (No. 366 nationally)***
Chatt High Center for Creative Arts, Chattanooga (No. 374 nationally)**
Ravenwood High School, Brentwood, Tennessee (No. 377 nationally)
Franklin High School, Franklin, Tennessee (No. 442 nationally)
*Denotes a public magnet high school with no academic requirements to enroll
**Denotes a public magnet high school with academic or other requirements to enroll
***Denotes a public charter high school
Note: Central Magnet High School, Hume-Fogg Magnet High School, Merrol Hyde Magnet School and Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet School all have academic requirements to enroll. Chatt High Center for Creative Arts is a magnet school that requires auditions to enroll, but does not have academic requirements.
Learn more
See the full national rankings, along with lists by state, area, school type and more, at usnews.com/education/best-high-schools.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Best public high schools in Tennessee: U.S. News releases rankings
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