Best high schools in the Washington, D.C. 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 Washington, D.C. 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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#25. Walt Whitman High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Montgomery County Public Schools, MD
- Enrollment: 2,018 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#24. St. Stephen's and St. Agnes School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Alexandria, VA
- Enrollment: 1,213 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#23. The Field School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Washington, DC
- Enrollment: 368 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#22. Stone Ridge School of the Sacred Heart

- School type: Private School
- Location: Bethesda, MD
- Enrollment: 757 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#21. Poolesville High School

- School type: Public School
- Location: Montgomery County Public Schools, MD
- Enrollment: 1,309 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#20. Bullis School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Potomac, MD
- Enrollment: 1,069 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#19. Ideaventions Academy for Math and Science

- School type: Private School
- Location: Reston, VA
- Enrollment: 75 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#18. Landon School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Bethesda, MD
- Enrollment: 700 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#17. St. Anselm's Abbey School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Washington, DC
- Enrollment: 231 (4:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#16. Pinnacle Academy

- School type: Private School
- Location: Chantilly, VA
- Enrollment: 250 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#15. Veritas Collegiate Academy

- School type: Private School
- Location: Arlington, VA
- Enrollment: 141 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#14. Rochambeau The French International School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Bethesda, MD
- Enrollment: 1,268 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#13. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology

- School type: Public School
- Location: Fairfax County Public Schools, VA
- Enrollment: 1,967 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#12. St. Albans School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Washington, DC
- Enrollment: 592 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#11. Maret School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Washington, DC
- Enrollment: 650 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#10. Washington International School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Washington, DC
- Enrollment: 890 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#9. National Cathedral School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Washington, DC
- Enrollment: 586 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#8. Georgetown Preparatory School

- School type: Private School
- Location: North Bethesda, MD
- Enrollment: 507 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#7. Holton-Arms School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Bethesda, MD
- Enrollment: 665 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#6. The Potomac School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Mclean, VA
- Enrollment: 1,069 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#5. Episcopal High School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Alexandria, VA
- Enrollment: 463 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#4. Georgetown Day School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Washington, DC
- Enrollment: 1,075 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#3. The Madeira School

- School type: Private School
- Location: Mclean, VA
- Enrollment: 341 (4:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+

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#2. BASIS Independent McLean

- School type: Private School
- Location: Mclean, VA
- Enrollment: 682 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+