Listen Live

Location, location, location. That has been the mantra of real estate for decades. When families look at purchasing a home, they often consider location as it relates to school districts. Parents want their children to be in a “good” school district… an award winning, blue ribbon certified school.

Every year, U.S. News and World Reports ranks the top public high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia. Of the nearly 24,000 schools reviewed for this year’s rankings, 374 Indiana schools made the list. The U.S. News and World Reports survey takes into consideration college readiness (30% of the ranking), college curriculum breadth (10%), state assessment proficiency (20%), state assessment performance (20%), underserved student performance (10%) and graduation rate (10%).

In the Indy area, many people guess Carmel as the top ranked high school. You might be surprised to find who ranks above Carmel. According to this list, here are the best performers…

The Top 20 Best High Schools In Indiana

  1. Signature School (Evansville/Vanderburgh County; No. 3 nationally)
  2. The Indiana Academy (Muncie/Delaware County; No. 216 nationally)
  3. Herron High School (Indianapolis/Marion County; No. 318 nationally)
  4. West Lafayette Jr./Sr. High School (West Lafayette/Tippecanoe County, No. 341 nationally)
  5. Zionsville Community High School (Zionsville/Boone County, No. 362 nationally)
  6. Carmel High School (Carmel/Hamilton County, No. 394 nationally)
  7. Burris Laboratory School (Muncie/Delaware County, No. 419 nationally)
  8. Speedway Senior High School (Speedway/Marion County, No. 544 nationally)
  9. Munster High School (Munster/Lake County, No. 617 nationally)
  10. Fishers High School (Fishers/Hamilton County, No. 719 nationally)
  11. Westfield High School (Westfield/Hamilton County, No. 723 nationally)
  12. Brownsburg High School (Brownsburg/Hendricks County, No. 889 nationally)
  13. Washington Township Middle/High School (Valparaiso/Porter County, No. 963 nationally)
  14. Bloomington High School (Bloomington/Monroe County, No. 1,011 nationally)
  15. Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers/Hamilton County, No. 1,073 nationally)
  16. Carroll High School (Fort Wayne/Allen County, No. 1,164 nationally)
  17. Floyd Central High School (Floyd Knobs/Floyd County, No. 1,331 nationally)
  18. Avon High School (Avon/Hendricks County, No. 1,408 nationally)
  19. Homestead Senior High School (Fort Wayne/Allen County, No. 1,481 nationally)
  20. Penn High School (Mishawaka/St. Joseph County, No. 1,486 nationally)

Using the same criteria, the report was then broken down into geographic areas. They determined the best high schools in Evansville, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis and South Bend.

classroom of students with teacher in front instructing

(Photo by David van Haren/BSR Agency/Getty Images)

Top 10 Indianapolis Area High Schools

  1. Herron High School (Indianapolis/Marion County; No. 318 nationally)
  2. Zionsville Community High School (Zionsville/Boone County, No. 362 nationally)
  3. Carmel High School (Carmel/Hamilton County, No. 394 nationally)
  4. Speedway Senior High School (Speedway/Marion County, No. 544 nationally)
  5. Fishers High School (Fishers/Hamilton County, No. 719 nationally)
  6. Westfield High School (Westfield/Hamilton County, No. 723 nationally)
  7. Brownsburg High School (Brownsburg/Hendricks County, No. 889 nationally)
  8. Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers/Hamilton County, No. 1,073 nationally)
  9. Avon High School (Avon/Hendricks County, No. 1,408 nationally)
  10. Plainfield High School (Plainfield/Hendricks County, No. 1,890 nationally)

The top high school in the nation is in Alexandria, Virginia. It is the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. They use a STEM-focused curriculum that culminates with a technical lab project for seniors. The school offers courses like DNA science, advanced marine biology, automation and robotics, architectural drawing and design, research statistics and AP calculus.

Was your school on the list?