While schools in some parts of the state will wait until after Labor Day to start the 2025-2026 school year, a significant amount of Idaho students are already back in the classroom.
As they’re getting settled into new schedules, signing up for extracurriculars and making new friends, a national publication is highlighting the best schools in the state. U.S. News & World Report recently updated their full ranking of 24,000 public high schools across the nation and 157 Idaho schools made their list.
How America’s Best High Schools Were Ranked
While ranking schools in the Gem State and beyond, U.S. News & World Report considered factors like a high school’s graduation rate, performance on state-required tests like the Idaho Standards Achievement Test and how well they prepared students for college. It’s no small challenge when graduation requirements can vary greatly from state-to-state.
After spending what I’m sure was countless hours analyzing data, the publication named BASICS Tucson North in Tucson, Arizona “America’s Best High School.” In their profile of the school, U.S. News & World Report explains that students going to their school must start taking Advanced Placement (AP) classes and tests in ninth grade, setting them up to participate in the AP Capstone program or the school’s only senior program…