August 18, 2026
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Julia R. Masterman School, at 1699 Spring Garden St., is considered one of the best high schools in America.
Philadelphia is home to one of the five best public high schools in America, according to a new ranking.
U.S. News & World Report named the Julia R. Masterman School No. 3 on its latest list. The honor places the school above 27,000 others the publication considered for its annual ranking, which was unveiled Tuesday. It's also an improvement on the Fairmount magnet school's previous spot; Julia R. Masterman School was No. 8 in the 2025-2026 rankings.
The only schools that placed higher were the Signature School in Evansville, Indiana, and the Central Magnet School in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, which landed in the second and first spots, respectively. Signature School maintained the No. 2 position it claimed in last year's ranking, while Central Magnet School surged from No. 3.
A school from Chester County also cracked the top 20. Downingtown STEM Academy ranked No. 19, a slight bump up from its previous No. 22 placing.
No other schools from Pennsylvania made the national top 100. Radnor High School, however, placed No. 97 on the list of best STEM high schools.
U.S. News & World Report makes its selections based on student achievement on state exams, graduation rates, college readiness and other factors. Based on this criteria, it considered 27,000 schools and ultimately ranked 18,000.
Here are the 20 best high schools in America, according to the publication:
1. Central Magnet School (Murfreesboro, TN)
2. Signature School (Evansville, IN)
3. Julia R. Masterman School (Philadelphia, PA)
4. Davidson Academy (Reno, NV)
5. Schools Without Walls High School (Washington, D.C.)
6. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (Alexandria, VA)
7. Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology (Lawrenceville, GA)
8. The School for the Talented and Gifted (Dallas, TX)
9. Nikola Tesla STEM High School (Redmond, WA)
10. Science Academy STEM Magnet (North Hollywood, CA)
11. Whitney High School (Cerritos, CA)
12. International Academy (Bloomfield Hills, MI)
13. Pine View School (Osprey, FL)
14. Aikens Scholars Academy (Aiken, SC)
15. BASIS Oro Valley (Oro Valley, AZ)
16. BASIS Goodyear (Goodyear, AZ)
17. Oxford Academy (Cypress, CA)
18. HCS Scholars Academy High (Conway, SC)
19. Downingtown STEM Academy (Downingtown, PA)
20. Haas Hall Bentonville (Bentonville, AR)
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