RCS high schools named among state’s best

Rochester High School students work with the anatomy table in class as their teacher looks on. The unit is a teaching aid that has fully annotated human anatomy and the ability to read CT/MRI data, and create 3-D models.

A teacher at Adams High School connects with a student during an AP class. RCS offers an AP Capstone Diploma, where students must successfully pass both AP Seminar and AP Research with a score of 3 or higher, as well as four other AP exams with a score of 3 or higher.

Photo provided by Rochester Community Schools

ROCHESTER/ROCHESTER HILLS/OAKLAND TOWNSHIP — Three high schools in the Rochester Community Schools district are ranked among the best public high schools in the state, according to U.S. News & World Report.

This year, U.S. News & World Report ranked nearly 17,600 schools at the national, state and local levels.

In Michigan, the report pit approximately 673 high schools in the state against each other.

The state’s top five are the International Academy in Bloomfield Hills at No. 1, the International Academy of Macomb in Clinton Township at No. 2, City Middle/High School in Grand Rapids at No. 3, Washtenaw International High School in Ypsilanti at No. 4, and Saginaw Arts and Sciences Academy at No. 5.

In the Rochester Community Schools district, all three of the district’s conventional high schools ranked in the top 50 in the state. Rochester Adams High School came in at No. 8 in Michigan, Stoney Creek placed No. 11 and Rochester High was ranked No. 42 in the state.

Nationally, Adams ranked No. 391, Stoney Creek was No. 578 and Rochester High placed No. 1,387 out of over 25,000 high schools across the country.

RCS Interim Superintendent John Silveri said the district’s tradition of academic excellence continues.

“We have amazing students who rise to the occasion when standards are set high,” Silveri said in a statement.

Officials from U.S. News said the top-ranked public schools in the 2024 Best HIgh Schools rankings are those whose students earned outstanding scores in math, reading and science state assessments; took and earned a qualifying score in an array of college-level exams; and graduated in high proportions. State rankings, according to officials, are calculated based on the proportion of each state’s schools in the top 25% of the 2024 Best High Schools rankings.

“The 2024 Best High Schools rankings offer a starting point for parents to understand a school’s academic performance, whether it’s a prospective school or one that their child is already attending,” LaMont Jones, the managing editor of education at U.S. News, said in a statement. “Accessible data on our high schools can empower families across the country as they navigate today’s educational environment and plan for the future.”

For the full rankings, visit www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools.