These are the top high schools in the Raleigh and Durham-Chapel Hill metro areas in 2023

T. Keung Hui
·4 min read

A new school has emerged as the top-ranked public high school in the Triangle in addition to being rated one of the best schools in the nation.

Wake STEM Early College in Cary dethroned Raleigh Charter High School in the U.S. News & World Report 2023-24 Best High Schools rankings released early Tuesday. Both schools were also the only ones in the Triangle to make the top 500 in the new rankings.

Raleigh Charter had perennially been the highest-ranked school in Raleigh and the Triangle. But Wake STEM was usually right behind Raleigh Charter before overtaking it this year.

Wake STEM focuses on science, technology, engineering and math. It’s an early college, meaning students can graduate in five years with both a high school diploma and up to two years of college credit from N.C. State University.

Wake STEM Early College High School held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new building in Cary on April 18, 2022. U.S. News & World Report named it the top public high school in the Triangle in 2023.
Wake STEM Early College High School held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new building in Cary on April 18, 2022. U.S. News & World Report named it the top public high school in the Triangle in 2023.

Greensboro school named best in country

But the ranking for the top U.S. public high school went to The Early College at Guilford in Greensboro.

Guilford County was the only North Carolina school district with multiple schools in the top 500 nationally. It has two schools in the top 50 and another at 173rd.

More than a fifth of North Carolina’s high schools (22%) ranked in the top 25% nationally. That put North Carolina 25th nationally after being tied for 28th last year.

U.S. News ranked 17,860 public high schools based on college readiness, proficiency on state exams, performance on state exams, performance of underserved students, college curriculum breadth and graduation rates.

“Having access to a strong high school program is paramount for students as they face an ever-changing world,” said Liana Loewus, managing editor of education at U.S. News, in a news release. “Making data on our high schools available helps parents ensure their child is in the educational environment that best sets them up to thrive

U.S. News has been rating high schools since 2007.

The rankings were based on the 2020-21 school year, when students received a limited amount of in-person instruction due to the pandemic. The U.S. Department of Education required states to resume giving standardized tests that school year after having waived them in the 2019-20 school year.

Depending on how many students took the test in a state, either 2018-19 or 2020-21 data was used or an average of the two years.

RTI International, a research firm based in Research Triangle Park, crunched the numbers for the 2023 list.

Top Raleigh metro area schools

The top 10 schools in the Raleigh-Cary metro area (which includes Wake, Johnston and Franklin counties) are:

▪ Wake STEM Early College High School in Cary (No. 4 in North Carolina and No. 118 nationally)

▪ Raleigh Charter High School (No. 5 in the state and No. 133 nationally)

▪ Panther Creek High School in Cary (No. 12 in the state and No. 592 nationally)

▪ Crossroads FLEX High School in Cary (No. 20 in the state and No. 704 nationally)

▪ Green Hope High School in Cary (No. 26 in the state and No. 753 nationally)

▪ Enloe High School in Raleigh (No. 30 in the state and No. 1,084 nationally)

▪ Wake Young Women’s Leadership Academy in Raleigh (No. 31 in the state and No. 1,093 nationally)

▪ Apex Friendship High School (No. 32 in the state and No. 1,094 nationally)

▪ North Wake College and Career Academy in Wake Forest (No. 39 in the state and No. 1,329 nationally)

▪ Longleaf School of the Arts in Raleigh (No. 40 in the state and No. 1,363 nationally)

Top Durham-Chapel Hill schools

The top 10 schools in the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area (which includes Durham, Orange, Chatham, Granville and Person counties) are:

▪ Woods Charter School in Chapel Hill (No. 9 in the state and No. 511 nationally)

▪ Research Triangle High School in Durham (No. 22 in the state and No. 731 nationally)

▪ East Chapel Hill High School (No. 24 in the state and No. 734 nationally)

▪ Chapel Hill High School (No. 25 in the state and No. 745 nationally)

▪ Durham School of the Arts (No. 35 in the state and No. 1,303 nationally)

▪ Carrboro High School (No. 42 in the state and No. 1,437 nationally)

▪ Oxford Preparatory School in Oxford (No. 46 in the state and No. 1,528 nationally)

▪ Eno River Academy in Hillsborough (No. 52 in the state and No. 1,727 nationally)

▪ City of Medicine Academy in Durham (No. 70 in the state and No. 2,359 nationally)

▪ Roxboro Community School (No. 71 in the state and No. 2,374 nationally)

Charter schools make up two of the top 10 schools in the Raleigh list and five of the top 10 in the Durham list.

Charter schools are taxpayer-funded schools that are exempt from some of the rules that traditional public schools must follow. For instance, they’re not required to provide school bus service or participate in the federal school lunch program.

They also have more flexibility in how they spend their money, don’t have to follow the school calendar law and don’t need all their teachers to be licensed.

Read the full report at www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools.