Back on top: How did Palm Beach County high schools fare in national rankings?

Katherine Kokal, Palm Beach Post
Updated ·4 min read

Two Palm Beach County high schools are back among the top 100 public high schools in the nation, according to the annual rankings released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Reports.

Suncoast High pulled ahead, ranking 70th, and Alexander W. Dreyfoos Jr. School of the Arts ranked 90th across the country — coveted spots in the top 17,000 high schools that the schools struggled to attain the past two years. The rankings represent a switch from years past when Dreyfoos outranked Suncoast.

Both schools routinely landed near the top of U.S. News’ list before the magazine changed its system in 2019, adding more schools to the review and more considerations to the ranking process.

In 2022, neither school cracked the top 100 list. Dreyfoos was ranked 111th and Suncoast came in at 119th.

In 2021, Dreyfoos was ranked 109th and Suncoast 128th.

Reached Tuesday, Suncoast Principal Kathryn Koerner called the recognition "affirming and rewarding."

"Making such an astounding leap showcases the dynamic efforts and incredible accomplishments of our students and staff," she said. "My team was compassionate, innovative, and committed during unprecedented times to make sure instruction was meaningful and students were successful."

Dreyfoos principal Blake Bennett, reached Tuesday, said she was "incredibly proud" of the ranking.

"The teaching and learning occurring in the academics and the arts on our campus every single day is truly inspiring," Bennett said.

U.S. News & World Report came up with its rankings this year by analyzing six weighted categories: college readiness (30%), state assessment proficiency (20%), state assessment performance (20%), college curriculum breadth (10%), underserved student performance (10%) and graduation rate (10%).

For more on how schools were ranked, see the U.S. News & World Report website.

Suncoast is a magnet school that pulls students from all over Palm Beach County and requires an application to attend. Dreyfoos also pulls students from the whole county, requires an application and an audition for many of its arts programs.

From 2022: How did Palm Beach County high schools fare in the 2022 U.S. News & World Report rankings?

Best Palm Beach County High Schools in 2023

Palm Beach County was once again well-represented in the top 100 schools in the U.S., and also present further down the list.

More: Congratulations Class of 2023! Photos of high school graduations in Palm Beach County

Seven local schools ranked in the top 2,000 schools nationwide, and another 10 were listed in the top 5,000 schools.

Here are the high schools that made the top 5,000 spots:

From 2021: Was U.S. News’ Best High Schools list unfair to PBC schools? School leaders think so.

See the full list of national rankings on the U.S. News & World Report website.

Best high schools in Florida in 2023

South Florida dominated the magazine's statewide rankings of best high schools this year — just six of the top 20 schools are located outside Palm Beach and Miami-Dade Counties.

Suncoast High School graduates attend ceremonies at the South Florida Fairgrounds in May.
Suncoast High School graduates attend ceremonies at the South Florida Fairgrounds in May.

Here are the top 20 high schools in Florida:

  1. School for Advanced Studies, Miami

  2. Pine View School, Osprey

  3. Archimedean Upper Conservatory Charter School, Miami

  4. Westshore Junior/Senior High School, Melbourne

  5. Marine Academy of Science and Technology (MAST@FIU), North Miami

  6. Suncoast High School, Riviera Beach

  7. Edgewood Jr./Sr. High School, Merritt Island

  8. Stanton College Preparatory School, Jacksonville

  9. Design and Architecture Senior High School, Miami

  10. Jose Marti Mast 6-12 Academy, Hialeah

  11. Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, West Palm Beach

  12. International Studies Preparatory Academy, Coral Gables

  13. iPrep Academy, Miami

  14. Young Women's Preparatory Academy, Miami

  15. Doral Performing Arts and Entertainment Academy, Doral

  16. International Studies Charter High School, Miami

  17. MAST Academy, Key Biscayne

  18. Terra Environmental Research Institute, Miami

  19. Mason Classical Academy, Naples

  20. Orlando Science Middle High Charter, Orlando

Dreyfoos School of the Arts' Class of 2023 graduate in May.
Dreyfoos School of the Arts' Class of 2023 graduate in May.

See the full list of statewide rankings on the U.S. News & World Report website.

Katherine Kokal is a journalist covering education at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at kkokal@pbpost.com. Help support our work, subscribe today!

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County high schools rankings in US News World Reports