Brookline High School landed at No. 493 out of nearly 18,000 ranked public high schools in U.S. News & World Report's 2026-27 Best High Schools rankings, released Tuesday, Aug. 18. The school also placed 19th in Massachusetts.

The ranking puts BHS in roughly the top 3 percent of public high schools nationwide, based on data from the 2023-24 school year. The evaluation, produced with research firm RTI International, assessed about 27,000 eligible schools across the country.

What the ranking measures

College readiness carries the most weight at 30 percent of a school's score, according to U.S. News's methodology. It measures the share of seniors who took and earned a qualifying score (3 or higher on AP exams, 4 or higher on IB) on at least one exam. At BHS, 67 percent of students participate in AP coursework, according to the U.S. News school profile, with a 12th-grade class of 548 students.

State assessment proficiency and state assessment performance each account for 20 percent. The first measures raw scores on Massachusetts' required math, reading and science tests. The second compares those results against what U.S. News predicted for a school with BHS's demographics, rewarding schools that outperform expectations.

Three other factors round out the formula: graduation rate (10 percent), underserved student performance among Black, Hispanic and low-income students (10 percent) and college curriculum breadth (10 percent), which tracks seniors earning qualifying AP or IB scores across multiple subject areas.

Massachusetts leads the nation

Massachusetts had the largest share of high schools ranked in the top 25 percent nationally, at 47 percent, according to Patch's statewide roundup. New Jersey followed at 44 percent and Maryland at 43 percent. Boston Latin School topped the state list at No. 44 nationally.

BHS's suburban peers landed nearby: Newton South High School at No. 497 and Concord Carlisle High School at No. 503.

What families should know

The ranking relies on 2023-24 data, not the current school year. BHS enrollment has since grown to 2,147 students in grades 9-12 for 2025-26, according to Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education data. The school, led by Headmaster Anthony Meyer, is the sole high school in the Public Schools of Brookline district, which serves about 6,948 students total.

Private schools are excluded from the U.S. News rankings because of limitations in publicly available data, though charter and magnet schools are eligible.

The School Committee's Finance and Capital Projects Subcommittee meets Wednesday, Aug. 19 at 5 p.m. via Zoom.