U.S. News & World Report ranks BCPS high schools among best in state and nation
Baltimore County’s public high schools placed well in the annual
U.S. News and World Report’s Best High Schools list released today, with three placing in Maryland’s top 10 high schools and
five placing within the top 50. Eastern Technical High School, once again ranked first in Maryland, is
ranked 46th nationally.
In addition to Eastern, Western School of Technology, George Washington Carver Center for Arts and
Technology, and Hereford and Towson high schools ranked among the top 50 in Maryland.
“While we know that our schools are far more than their test scores or rankings, we greatly appreciate
that so many of our high schools continue to be recognized at the state and national level,” said BCPS
Superintendent Dr. Bill Heiser. “We are so proud of the achievements of the teachers, staff,
administrators, and students at these honored high schools, and, as we begin this new school year, we
are intensifying our efforts to advance excellence together at every school, for every student.”
The BCPS high schools that received rankings on the U.S. News & World Report list are:
- Eastern Technical High School #1 in Maryland (unchanged from 2025)
- Western Tech #8 in Maryland
- Carver Center #10 in Maryland
- Hereford High #25 in Maryland
- Towson High #32 in Maryland
The U.S. News rankings include data on more than 17,000 public high schools in 50 states and the
District of Columbia. Rankings are based on college readiness (counting for 30 percent of the U.S. News
score), state assessment proficiency (20 percent), state assessment performance (20 percent),
underserved student performance (10 percent), college curriculum breadth (10 percent), and graduation
rate (10 percent). Factored into the rankings were participation and achievement in Advanced Placement
and International Baccalaureate courses.
According to the U.S. News website, “A great high school educates all of its students from different social
and economic backgrounds, exposing them to challenging coursework on the path to graduation. The
highest ranked U.S. public schools in U.S. News & World Report’s 2026-2027 Best High Schools rankings
are those whose students demonstrated outstanding outcomes above expectations in math, reading,
and science state assessments, earning qualifying scores on an array of college-level exams, and
graduated in high proportions.”
See the
BCPS News Release for the complete list of high schools ranked in the report.