Great Neck South High School and Manhasset Secondary School again made the U.S. News & World Report’s top 300 high schools list this year, making up half of Long Island’s titleholders.
Great Neck South ranked 222nd while Manhasset ranked 228th. Garden City High School and Jericho High School also made the list, at 214th and 134th respectively.
U.S. News & World Report modified its methodology this year by including schools even if they did not reach a certain mark for state assessment or graduation rates. That added more than 14,500 schools, according to the publication.
The ranking also includes a new overall score on a scale of zero to 100 that represents the school’s percentile nationally. Great Neck South’s is 98.71 and Manhasset’s is 98.68.
“It really is a great honor, and it really is the result of such a kind, caring, dedicated and supportive staff that always goes above and beyond for the success of all students,” said Great Neck South High School Principal Christopher Gitz about the ranking released this week.
Six factors contribute to a high school’s ranking and are weighed at varying degrees. College readiness is the highest contributing factor, worth 30 percent, and includes the proportion of 12th grade students who took at least one AP or IB exam and the number of those students who passed it.
U.S. News & World Report also evaluates math and reading test scores, college curriculum breadth, the graduation rate and the academic performance of black, Hispanic and low-income students.
“I am always very proud of our success and the subsequent recognition that our schools receive on the local, regional and national level,” said Manhasset school district Superintendent Vincent Butera. “While no single ranking truly defines the success of Manhasset Secondary School, being recognized for providing opportunities and high academic achievement is a source of great pride.”
The expanded pool of contenders and new methodology this year means a school’s numerical ranking is not comparable with its previous ones, the publication said.
Last year the Wheatley School in the East Williston school district made the list, ranking 180th. This year, at 575th, it did not make the top 300. Its overall score was 96.67 out of 100.
More than six times as many schools were ranked this year.
“A great high school educates all students from different social and economic backgrounds, exposing them to challenging coursework on the path to graduation,” wrote Robert Morse and Eric Brooks of U.S. News & World Report in an article accompanying the release of the rankings.
