U.S. News National Rankings: Where Lakeville North, South Rank

LAKEVILLE, MN — Lakeville is home to two of the best public high schools in Minnesota, according to new rankings by U.S. News and World Report.

Both Lakeville South High School and Lakeville North High School rank in the top 50 in the state.

Lakeville South High School facts

• Places No. 17 in Minnesota rankings
• Placed No. 1,544 in the national rankings
• Graduation rate: 95 percent
• Total enrollment: 1,888
• The AP participation rate: 63 percent
• Student-Teacher Ratio 17:1

Lakeville North High School facts

• Places No. 38 in Minnesota rankings
• Placed No. 2,659 in the national rankings
• Graduation rate: 98 percent
• Total enrollment: 1,830
• The AP participation rate: 55 percent
• Student-Teacher Ratio 19:1

This year's list of best high schools evaluated more than 17,800 schools nationwide.

The 2022 ranking of best high schools is intended to show how well the nation's public schools serve all students, regardless of achievement level, by teaching them basic skills and preparing them for college-level work, according to a news release from U.S. News.

Families can also use the rankings to see how schools compare at the national, state, and local levels on factors such as graduation rates and college readiness.

These Minnesota schools were ranked among the top 1000 nationwide, according to U.S. News:

This year, the top 15 schools nationally are in 14 different states.

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, was ranked No. 1 in the nation, as well as among magnet schools.

Here are the top 10 schools in this year’s national Best High Schools ranking:

1. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology - Alexandria, Virginia
2. Academic Magnet High School - North Charleston, South Carolina
3. Signature School - Evansville, Indiana
4. School for Advanced Studies - Miami, Florida
5. Payton College Preparatory High School - Chicago, Illinois
6. The Davidson Academy of Nevada - Reno, Nevada
7. Central Magnet School - Murfreesboro, Tennessee
8. The School for the Talented and Gifted - Dallas, Texas
9. Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology - Lawrenceville, Georgia
10. Julia R. Masterman Secondary School - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This year’s schools were ranked on six measures: college readiness, college curriculum breadth, state assessment performance, state assessment proficiency, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, underserved student performance and graduation rates.

The data used in this year’s ranking is from the 2019-20 academic school year. U.S. News adjusted its calculation of these measures to account for the impact COVID-19 had on schools in the 2019-20 school year.

Since most states closed schools for in-person instruction starting in March 2020 — typically just before most states conduct assessments — the U.S. Department of Education granted waivers allowing all states to forgo state testing for the 2019-20 school year.

To account for this, U.S. News relied on past assessment data from the
three prior ranking years. Researchers also incorporated state science assessment data from the 2018-19 school year.

Read more about the Best High Schools methodology.

In addition to the national rankings, U.S. News also published rankings at the state, metro area and school district levels. Only metro areas and school districts with three or more high schools were included in these subrankings.

Signature School in Indiana is at the top of the list for charter schools, and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia is the No. 1 magnet school. The Davidson Academy of Nevada is the top STEM school.