15 Best Public High Schools in New York City

Crack open your books and study guides because we’re about to take a look at the best public high schools in New York City.

The public school system is constantly under fire for underperforming and overall providing students with an inadequate education. While in certain instances this might be true, particularly due to a lack of funding, there are many public schools that thrive and prepare students for the next steps in their lives. While I didn’t actually enjoy school, my public school experience was actually pretty nice. I went to a small school where a lot of the teachers taught multiple areas within their subject of expertise, but because of the fact that there weren’t many students, there was a lot of individualized attention. If I needed help with a homework assignment, it was pretty easy to find my teachers and talk to them about it.

I think a lot of problems with public schools is a lack of funding that leads to fewer teachers handling more students. This causes some students to get lost in the shuffle and fall behind rather quickly. Unfortunately, a lot of people don’t have the money to send their kids to private school, so public school is the only legitimate option. Many can thrive in these environments, but it takes a lot of work and initiative. I can imagine it takes extra work to thrive in the largest public high schools in New York City as well.

New York City is a big place with a lot of schools, so it’s important that we were able to utilize different resources to narrow down our options. In order to create this list, we looked at U.S. News to see what was determined the best public schools. U.S. News worked with RTI International to come up with the best ranking system. There were a variety of factors considered. Foremost, whether or not students from each school perform better than other students in the same state. Next, whether minority and economically disadvantaged students outperform expectations for the state. Lastly, schools were judged on college readiness, which is determined based on the AP or IB participation rate. We simply utilized the same system and narrowed our search to just New York City in order to give you the list you’re about to read.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the best public high schools in New York City.

15. New Explorations Into Science, Tech, And Math High School

Total enrollment: 1,715

College Readiness Score: 76.8/100.0

The student body here is 49 percent male and 51 percent female with a 57 percent total minority enrollment. There are 89 teachers working full-time and the graduation rate is 95 percent.

14. Manhattan Bridges High School

Total enrollment: 551

College Readiness Score: 76.9/100.0

At Manhattan Bridges High School, 50 percent of students are female and 50 percent are male with 100 percent minority enrollment. 99 percent of students are economically disadvantaged. The 551 students are taught by 35 full-time teachers. There’s an 84 percent graduation rate.

13. Columbia Secondary School

Total enrollment: 664

College Readiness Score: 76.9/100.0

Columbia Secondary school has 82 percent minority enrollment and 57 percent of students are economically disadvantaged. The student population consisting of 50 percent males and 50 females has a 99 percent graduation rate that’s aided by the 36 full-time teachers.

12. Brooklyn Technical High School

Total enrollment: 5,457

College Readiness Score: 83.5/100.0

At Brooklyn Technical High School, 41 percent of students are female and 59 percent are male. The school has an 80 percent minority enrollment rate and 64 percent are economically disadvantaged. The 244 full-time teachers aid in achieving a 98 percent graduation rate.

11. High School Math Science and Engineering at CCNY

Total enrollment: 456

College Readiness Score: 84.3/100.0

This public school has a student population that’s 32 percent female and 68 percent male. The school has a 99 percent graduation rate and 30 full-time teachers.

10. Stuyvesant High School

Total enrollment: 3,293

College Readiness Score: 84.4/100.0

40 percent of students are female and 60 percent are male. There are 152 teachers that help achieve a 99 percent graduation rate.

9. High School For Dual Language and Asian Studies

Total enrollment: 410

College Readiness Score: 85.0/100.0

High School for Dual Language and Asian Studies ranks 9th in our list of best public high schools in New York City. It has a student population that’s 50 percent female and 50 percent male. 99 percent of students are minority enrollment and 88 percent of total enrollment is economically disadvantaged. The school has 24 full-time teachers and a 95 percent graduation rate.

8. Townsend Harris High School

Total enrollment: 1,151

College Readiness Score: 88.9/100.0

This school has a student population of 70 percent females and 30 percent males. About 78 percent are minority enrollment and 51 percent is economically disadvantaged. There are 49 full-time teachers and a 100 percent graduation rate.

7. Bronx High School of Science

Total enrollment: 3,037

College Readiness Score: 88.9/100.0

43 percent of students are female and 57 percent are male. 77 percent are minority enrollment and 44 percent is economically disadvantaged. The school has 141 full-time teachers and a 100 percent graduation rate, which explains its position on our list of the best public high schools in New York City.

6. Queens High School For The Sciences at York College

Total enrollment: 419

College Readiness Score: 93.3/100.0

Up next in our list of best public high schools in New York City is Queens High School for the Sciences at York College that has 48 percent females and 52 males. 93 percent are minority enrollment and 62 percent are economically disadvantaged. There are a 100 percent graduation rate and 24 full-time teachers.

5. Baccalaureate School For Global Education

Total enrollment: 502

College Readiness Score: 94.4/100.0

56 percent of total students are female and 44 percent are male. 45 percent of students are economically disadvantaged and 68 percent are minority enrollment. The school has a 98 percent graduation rate and 29 full-time teachers.

4. Staten Island Technical High School

Total enrollment: 1,235

College Readiness Score: 95.4/100.0

Staten Island Technical High School ranks 4th in our list of best public high schools in New York City. It has a student population that’s 43 percent female and 57 percent male. The minority enrollment percentage is 43 and 31 percent are economically disadvantaged. There’s a 100 percent graduation rate and 55 full-time teachers.

3. Brooklyn Latin School

Total enrollment: 593

College Readiness Score: 97.5/100.0

45 percent of students are female and 55 percent are male. 87 percent of students are minority enrollment and 67 percent is economically disadvantaged. The school has a 99 percent graduation rate and 35 full-time teachers.

2. KIPP Academy Charter School

Total enrollment: 1,005

College Readiness Score: 100.0/100.0

This second-ranked school has a student population that’s 49 percent female and 51 percent male. 100 percent of students are minority enrollment and 85 percent are economically disadvantaged. There are 74 full-time teachers and a 96 percent graduation rate.

1. High School Of American Studies at Lehman College

Total enrollment: 388

College Readiness Score: 100.0/100.0

45 percent of students here are female and 55 percent are male. About 47 percent is minority enrollment and 27 percent is economically disadvantaged. The school has a 100 graduation rate and 25 full-time teachers.

That concludes our list of the best public high schools in New York City. Hopefully this gives you a better idea of how the public school system can thrive under many different circumstances.