Schools

Union County High Schools Rank High on US News Survey

U.S. News & World Report ranks 6 UC schools in the top 50 in New Jersey and recognizes a 7th school.

U.S. News & World Report has released its Best High Schools in New Jersey rankings, and some Union County high schools did quite well:

  • The Academy for Allied Health Sciences — part of Union County Vo-Tech in Scotch Plains — ranked #4 in the state, #106 in the U.S.
  • Union County Magnet High School in Scotch Plains was #13 in New Jersey and #243 in the U.S.
  • Summit High School was #25 in New Jersey and #425 nationally.
  • has come in at #19 statewide and 370th nationally.
  • The Academy for Information Technology — also part of Union County Vo-Tech in Scotch Plains — ranked #27 in New Jersey and #443 in the U.S.
  • New Providence High School Ranked 31st in New Jersey and #549 nationally.
  • Union Cty. Vo-Tech High School in Scotch Plains was not ranked but was "recognized nationally."

The Academy for Allied Health Sciences, Union County Magnet, Summit HS, Westfield HS and The Academy for Information Technology were all awarded Gold ratings. New Providence HS had a Silver designation. Union County Vo-Tech enjoyed a Bronze designation.

See the full New Jersey list here.

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To make the evaluations, U.S. News teamed up with the Washington, D.C.-based American Institutes for Research (AIR), described as "one of the largest behavioral and social science research organizations in the world."

Schools were awarded gold, silver, or bronze medals based on state proficiency standards, how well they prepare students for college, and other factors — including how economically disadvantaged kids fared compared to statewide averages. The full methodology can be found here.

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"Under the great leadership of (Westfield High School Principal) Pete Renwick, WHS continues to be one of the top schools in NJ to prepare our students for college and life success," said member Mitch Slater. "And I believe the best is yet to come as we expand our ."

Of course, such surveys always have their critics. As one commenter on a Huffington Post story about the survey wrote: "Like almost all of these lists, it is not the 'best schools' being identified, but the 'schools with the best students.' As someone else once said (forget who) it would be like ranking hospitals based on how healthy the patients are when they check in?" The commenter noted that a high number of magnet schools made the top of the list.

U.S. News calculates these values based on student performance on state exit exams and internationally available exams on college-level coursework (AP®/IB exams).

Click here to view the entire list and see how Union County compares to other New Jersey high schools. 

Tell us where you think your school should rank. 

- West Orange Editor Liz Alterman contributed to this story.


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