8 Mississippi Coast high schools are among the top 20 in the state, new ranking says
U.S. News and World Reports ranked the country’s 100 best high schools of 2023-2024.
None of the top 100 are in Mississippi.
More than 17,000 of the country’s nearly 25,000 public high schools were included in this year’s list. The rankings were based on student performance (AP exams, graduation rates, state tests, etc.), graduation and how well students were prepared for college.
The rankings also took the performance of underserved students under consideration. The state assessments of Black, Hispanic and low-income students counted as 10% of each school’s overall score.
The schools at the top of the heap had students who were ready for college and tested well in state assessments. The schools had high (often perfect) graduation rates and offered tons of college curriculum.
The Mississippi Coast had some of the top high schools in the state. Of the 230 Mississippi high schools included in the rankings, Ocean Springs High School, Biloxi High School, Pass Christian High School, D’Iberville High School, Gautier High School, West Harrison High School, St. Martin High School and Pascagoula High School were in the top 20 for the state.
These are the 20 best high schools in Mississippi
1. Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science in Columbus
#144 in national rankings
Graduation rate: 100%
College readiness: 57.7
Enrollment: 232 students
#818 in national rankings
Graduation rate: 88%
College readiness: 35.3
Enrollment: 1,821 students
3. Lewisburg High School in Olive Branch
#1,360 in national rankings
Graduation rate: 94%
College readiness: 29.6
Enrollment: 1,226 students
#1,379 in national rankings
Graduation rate: 92%
College readiness: 23.1
Enrollment: 1,703 students
5. Natchez Early College Academy
#1,649 in national rankings
Graduation rate: 98%
College readiness: 25
Enrollment: 189 students
#1,804 in national rankings
Graduation rate: 89%
College readiness: 23.3
Enrollment: 640 students
#2,323 in national rankings
Graduation rate: 96%
College readiness: 23.2
Enrollment: 1,209 students
#2,346 in national rankings
Graduation rate: 92%
College readiness: 17.6
Enrollment: 1,369 students
9. Madison Central High School
#2,489 in national rankings
Graduation rate: 94%
College readiness: 26.2
Enrollment: 1,169 students
#2,519 in national rankings
Graduation rate: 92%
College readiness: 10.6
Enrollment: 1,323 students
#2,800 in national rankings
Graduation rate: 91%
College readiness: 33.7
Enrollment: 1,324 students
12. Center Hill High School in Olive Branch
#2,872 in national rankings
Graduation rate: 95%
College readiness: 15.6
Enrollment: 1,054 students
#2,995 in national rankings
Graduation rate: 90%
College readiness: 11.2
Enrollment: 871 students
14. Lafayette High School in Oxford
#3,215 in national rankings
Graduation rate: 91%
College readiness: 21.4
Enrollment: 836 students
15. West Harrison High School in Gulfport
#3,746 in national rankings
Graduation rate: 89%
College readiness: 5.7
Enrollment: 1,112 students
16. West Marion High School in Foxworth
#3,815 in national rankings
Graduation rate: 90%
College readiness: 10.4
Enrollment: 360 students
17. St. Martin High School in Ocean Springs
#3,967 in national rankings
Graduation rate: 90%
College readiness: 10.3
Enrollment: 1,230 students
#4,155 in national rankings
Graduation rate: 89%
College readiness: 11.8
Enrollment: 1,133 students
19. Northwest Rankin High School in Flowood
#4,290 in national rankings
Graduation rate: 90%
College readiness: 21.6
Enrollment: 1,768 students
20. DeSoto Central High School in Southaven
#4,479 in national rankings
Graduation rate: 87%
College readiness: 15.2
Enrollment: 636 students
Gulfport High School came in at 34 and East Central High School was number 35 on the state list. Gulfport’s Harrison Central High School ranked number 38 and Long Beach Senior High School was 45th on the list. Bay High School was 59th in the state.
California, Florida and Texas each had 11 schools on the list. But these states also had a larger population of schools. When looking at the proportion of each state’s schools on the list, the top five states looked a little different.
Here’s a list of states with the highest percentage of schools in the top 100
Arizona: 3.8% of schools ranked in the top 100
New Jersey: 2.0%
Nevada: 2.1%
Florida: 1.8%
New Hampshire: 1.2%
Other common attributes to the country’s best high schools included relatively small enrollment and a focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).
These are the best high schools in the U.S.
1. The Early College at Guilford in Greensboro, North Carolina
Graduation rate: 100%
College readiness: 100
Enrollment: 197 students
2. Signature School in Evansville, Indiana
Graduation rate: 100%
College readiness: 100
Enrollment: 383 students
3. School for Advanced Studies (SAS) in Miami, Florida
Graduation rate: 100%
College readiness: 100
Enrollment: 266 students
4. The Davidson Academy of Nevada in Reno, Nevada
Graduation rate: >95%
College readiness: 100
Enrollment: 132 students
5. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia
Graduation rate: 100%
College readiness: 100
Enrollment: 1,902 students
These are the top 25 elementary schools in Mississippi. See where your school ranked
These are the top 20 middle schools in Mississippi. See where your school ranked
These are the top 20 private schools in Mississippi. See where your school ranked
Here’s a list of Mississippi’s 50 highest-paid public officials. Many are superintendents.
