Photo: Jim.henderson / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Julia R. Masterman School in Philadelphia’s Fairmount neighborhood was named the third-best public high school in the country by U.S. News & World Report in the publication’s latest annual ranking, unveiled Tuesday.
The ranking places the magnet school above more than 27,000 others considered nationwide. It marks a significant jump from last year, when Masterman landed at No. 8.
Central Magnet School in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, claimed the top spot after surging from No. 3 in the previous cycle. Signature School in Evansville, Indiana, held steady at No. 2.
Closer to home, Downingtown STEM Academy in Chester County cracked the top 20 at No. 19, up from No. 22 last year. No other Pennsylvania school made the national top 100, though Radnor High School placed No. 97 on a separate list of best STEM high schools.
U.S. News & World Report based its selections on student achievement on state exams, graduation rates, college readiness and other factors. The publication considered 27,000 schools and ultimately ranked 18,000.
While Masterman sits in Fairmount rather than Northeast Philadelphia, the ranking underscores the strength of the city’s magnet school system, which draws students from neighborhoods across the district. Rounding out the national top five were Davidson Academy in Reno, Nevada, and Schools Without Walls High School in Washington, D.C.