These are the top public high schools in Arizona. See which made the list

Yana Kunichoff, Arizona Republic
Updated ·2 min read
2
The BASIS charter school network captured seven of the top 10 spots for Arizona public high schools in 2023.
The BASIS charter school network captured seven of the top 10 spots for Arizona public high schools in 2023.

The BASIS charter school network captured seven of the top 10 spots for Arizona public high schools in U.S. News & World Report's 2023 rankings.

Three district-run high schools made Arizona’s top 10 list: University High School in the Tucson Unified School District, University High School in the Tolleson High School District, and Gilbert Classical Academy High School in the Gilbert Unified District.

Nationwide, 12 Arizona public high schools ranked in the top 100:

  • BASIS Peoria, 12th

  • BASIS Scottsdale, 20th

  • BASIS Oro Valley, 21st

  • University High School (Tucson), 25th

  • University High School (Tolleson), 27th

  • BASIS Chandler, 30th

  • Gilbert Classical Academy High School, 47th

  • BASIS Ahwatukee, 48th

  • BASIS Phoenix, 51st

  • BASIS Tucson North, 53rd

  • BASIS Mesa, 62nd

  • BASIS Prescott, 67th

The rankings take into account the proportion of 12th graders who earned a qualifying score on one or multiple Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exams; performance on state assessments; how students of different races and income levels perform on state assessments; and the proportion of ninth graders who graduated from high school within four years.

Some education advocates have raised concerns about how the rankings, which rely significantly on test scores, reflect longstanding educational inequality tied to race and income.

“These rankings are really a measure of prestige, and prestige as we know it in this country is very intertwined with history, with race, with income. Just because a school is prestigious doesn’t mean it’s high quality for every student that will attend,” Tomás Monarrez, a senior research associate at the Urban Institute’s Center on Education Data and Policy, told The Arizona Republic in April 2022.

An Arizona Republic analysis of the 2022-2023 U.S. News and World Report high school rankings found the highest-ranked high schools were concentrated in wealthier areas, with more white and Asian students than the average Arizona school.

Yana Kunichoff is a reporter on The Arizona Republic's K-12 education team. You can join The Republic's Facebook page and reach Yana at ykunichoff@arizonarepublic.com.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: What are the top high schools in Arizona? Here's what U.S. News says