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1 / 25#25. Atholton High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Howard County Public Schools, MD
- Enrollment: 1,467 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Best high schools in the Baltimore metro area
According to the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics, 15.5 million students attend public high school every year, and more than 3.76 million are expected to graduate in 2025. However, those students have a wide variety of experiences over the course of their high school careers.
To start, issues surrounding equal educational access persist throughout the United States. A January 2025 report published in Frontiers found that disparities across socioeconomic status, race, gender, and geography can lead to negative outcomes and the perpetuation of systemic barriers.
Outside of these issues, students also pursue many different paths within high school. Roughly 8.3 million high schoolers attend educational programs to prepare for careers in fields like transportation, landscaping, and culinary arts. Meanwhile, nearly 2.5 million are in dual enrollment programs that offer high school and college credit for the same course, allowing students to get a jump on higher education degrees.
Dual enrollment programs are particularly useful considering that more than 3 in 5 (61%) high school graduates head to college, per a 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Unfortunately, high school doesn't always guarantee college success. In 2024, the average SAT score declined for the third straight year, and nearly 2 in 5 (39%) test-takers met or exceeded the test's college readiness benchmarks. ACT scores are also on the decline year over year, down to 19.4 out of 36, and just 3 in 10 students met at least three of the ACT's college readiness benchmarks.
With that said, attending a quality high school will typically help prepare students for their next steps in life, whether that's college, technical school, or going straight into the workforce. Stacker compiled a list of the best high schools in the Baltimore metro area using data from Niche, which uses seven weighted factors for its rankings. Most of the score is based on academics, but other factors include culture and diversity; sports; clubs and activities; resources; and surveys of parents, teachers, and students.
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2 / 25#24. Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Baltimore, MD
- Enrollment: 869 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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3 / 25#23. Calvert Hall College High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Baltimore, MD
- Enrollment: 1,280 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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4 / 25#22. Western School of Technology & Environmental Science
- School type: Public School
- Location: Baltimore County Public Schools, MD
- Enrollment: 942 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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5 / 25#21. Notre Dame Preparatory School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Towson, MD
- Enrollment: 844 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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6 / 25#20. St. Paul's School for Girls
- School type: Private School
- Location: Brooklandville, MD
- Enrollment: 482 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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7 / 25#19. Indian Creek School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Crownsville, MD
- Enrollment: 580 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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8 / 25#18. Eastern Technical High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Baltimore County Public Schools, MD
- Enrollment: 1,262 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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9 / 25#17. Mount Hebron High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Howard County Public Schools, MD
- Enrollment: 1,621 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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10 / 25#16. St. Paul's School for Boys
- School type: Private School
- Location: Brooklandville, MD
- Enrollment: 533 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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11 / 25#15. Centennial High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Howard County Public Schools, MD
- Enrollment: 1,392 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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12 / 25#14. Rockbridge Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Crownsville, MD
- Enrollment: 445 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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13 / 25#13. Severn School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Severna Park, MD
- Enrollment: 906 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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14 / 25#12. Garrison Forest School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Owings Mills, MD
- Enrollment: 527 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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15 / 25#11. Friends School of Baltimore
- School type: Private School
- Location: Baltimore, MD
- Enrollment: 780 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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16 / 25#10. Marriotts Ridge High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Howard County Public Schools, MD
- Enrollment: 1,716 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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17 / 25#9. Glenelg Country School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Ellicott City, MD
- Enrollment: 804 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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18 / 25#8. Roland Park Country School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Baltimore, MD
- Enrollment: 596 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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19 / 25#7. The Park School of Baltimore
- School type: Private School
- Location: Baltimore, MD
- Enrollment: 826 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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20 / 25#6. River Hill High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Howard County Public Schools, MD
- Enrollment: 1,424 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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21 / 25#5. McDonogh School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Owings Mills, MD
- Enrollment: 1,455 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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22 / 25#4. St. Timothy's School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Stevenson, MD
- Enrollment: 175 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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23 / 25#3. Key School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Annapolis, MD
- Enrollment: 650 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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24 / 25#2. Gilman School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Baltimore, MD
- Enrollment: 1,023 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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25 / 25#1. The Bryn Mawr School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Baltimore, MD
- Enrollment: 725 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
This story features data reporting by Rob Powell, writing by Jill Jaracz, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 97 metros.
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