What are the Lehigh Valley’s best high schools? Here are the latest U.S. News rankings

U.S. News & World Report has released its latest rankings of public high schools across the country, and four Lehigh Valley schools are among the top 100 in Pennsylvania.

Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School was the highest ranking school in the region, coming in at 26th in the state. It’s the third year in a row for the school, and an improvement over last year, when it ranked 40th.

Southern Lehigh, Saucon Valley and Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts were the other schools that made the top 100 in the list.

The publication said the rankings are made by measuring six categories across all the schools. Those six categories are the same last year, and they include the following: College Readiness (30%), State Assessment Proficiency (20%), State Assessment Performance (20%), College Curriculum Breadth (10%), Underserved Student Performance (10%) and Graduation Rate (10%).

Weighted scores for each category were added and then computed into an overall score between 0 and 1,000, according to the survey. The information for those scores comes from third-party sources.

Below is a list of every public high school in the Lehigh Valley ranked on the 2024 list.

Lehigh Valley Academy Regional Charter School

Pennsylvania ranking: 26

National ranking: 986

Graduation rate: 98

Southern Lehigh

Pennsylvania ranking: 47

National ranking: 1,399

Graduation rate: 94

Saucon Valley

Pennsylvania ranking: 62

National ranking: 1,762

Graduation rate: 94

Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts

Pennsylvania ranking: 64

National ranking: 1,822

Graduation rate: 98

Nazareth Area

Pennsylvania ranking: 105

National ranking: 2,848

Graduation rate: 95

Wilson Area

Pennsylvania ranking: 111

National ranking: 2,966

Graduation rate: 94

Parkland

Pennsylvania ranking: 132

National ranking: 3,298

Graduation rate: 93

Pen Argyl High School

Pennsylvania ranking: 203

National ranking: 5,050

Graduation rate: 95

Whitehall High School

Pennsylvania ranking: 229

National ranking: 5,489

Graduation rate: 94

Emmaus High School

Pennsylvania ranking: 236

National ranking:5,752

Graduation rate: 93

Freedom High School

Pennsylvania ranking: 254

National ranking: 6,226

Graduation rate: 86

Northwestern Lehigh High School

Pennsylvania ranking: 261

National ranking: 6,510

Graduation rate: 95

Northampton Area High School

Pennsylvania ranking: 288

National ranking: 7,154

Graduation rate: 90

Liberty High School

Pennsylvania ranking: 293

National ranking: 7,281

Graduation rate: 84

Easton Area High School

Pennsylvania ranking: 323

National ranking: 8,129

Graduation rate: 82

Executive Education Academy Charter School

Pennsylvania ranking: 337

National ranking: 8,603

Graduation rate: 94

Building 21

Pennsylvania ranking: 365

National ranking:  9,421

Graduation rate: 92

Northern Lehigh High School

Pennsylvania ranking: 401

National ranking: 10,333

Graduation rate: 89

Salisbury High School

Pennsylvania ranking: 417

National ranking: 10,788

Graduation rate: 80

Bangor Area High School

Pennsylvania ranking: 468

National ranking: 12,347

Graduation rate: 90

Lincoln Leadership Academy

Pennsylvania ranking: 499-656

National ranking: 13,242-17,655

Graduation rate: 96

Catasauqua High School

Pennsylvania ranking: 499-656

National ranking: 13,242-17,655

Graduation rate: 94

Roberto Clemente Charter School

Pennsylvania ranking: 499-656

National ranking: 13,242-17,655

Graduation rate: 84

Innovative Arts Academy

Pennsylvania ranking: 499-656

National ranking: 13,242-17,655

Graduation rate: 80

Dieruff High School

Pennsylvania ranking: 499-656

National ranking: 13,242-17,655

Graduation rate: 82

Allen High School

Pennsylvania ranking: 499-656

National ranking: 13,242-17,655

Graduation rate: 77

Top 10 schools in Pennsylvania

1. Julia R. Masterman Secondary School, Philadelphia
2. Downingtown STEM Academy, Downingtown
3. Wilkes-Barre Area School District Stem Academy, Plains
4. Conestoga High School, Berwyn
5. Central High School, Philadelphia
6. Radnor High School, King of Prussia
7. Greater Valley High School, Malvern
8. Pittsburgh CAPA 6-12, Pittsburgh
9. Upper Saint Clair High School, Pittsburgh
10. Harriton High School, Rosemont