Greely High School in Cumberland is the best in Maine, according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2022 high school rankings, released Tuesday. This is the third year in a row Greely received the state’s No. 1 slot.
The top five schools include Kennebunk High School, Maine School of Science and Mathematics in Limestone, Cape Elizabeth High School and Falmouth High School.
Camden Hills Regional High School in Rockport, Yarmouth High School, Greenville Consolidated School, Katahdin Middle/High School and Scarborough High School made it in the top 10.
The U.S. News list ranks more than 17,800 public high schools across the nation, including 113 in Maine. The rankings are based on college readiness, reading and math proficiency and performance, underserved student performance, college-level course offerings and graduation rates. This year, U.S. News for the first time also considered science proficiency and performance for most states, including Maine. U.S. News also altered its calculations to account for the impact COVID-19 had on schools, according to a statement released Tuesday.
Greely High, part of School Administrative District 51, serves almost 650 students who live in Cumberland and North Yarmouth. The school is largely wealthy and white, with less than 8 percent minority students and 5 percent economically disadvantaged.
Economically disadvantaged students are considered those who qualify for free or reduced lunch. Currently, the state of Maine offers free lunch to all public school students, but a student is considered eligible for a free meal if they belong to a family with an annual household income of less than $34,450 for a family of four.
Although Greely is No. 1 in Maine, it is ranked 1,178 out of the almost 18,000 schools in the country looked at by U.S. News. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, was named the top high school in the country. The majority of the other top schools are in or near major metropolitan areas including Chicago; Charleston, South Carolina; Miami; Reno, Nevada; Dallas; and Philadelphia.
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