3 Tucson schools rank among top 50 public high schools in the country

Three Tucson schools — University High, Basis Oro Valley and Basis Tucson North — have been ranked among the top 50 public high schools in the country.

U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 rankings placed Tucson Unified’s University High as 17th-best in the U.S., followed by charter schools Basis Oro Valley at No. 23 and Basis Tucson North at No. 47.

Schools were ranked based on six indicators:

College readiness, based on the proportions of 12th grade students who took and earned a qualifying score on Advanced Placement and/or International Baccalaureate exams

College curriculum breadth, based on proportions of 12th grade students who took and earned a qualifying score on AP and/or IB exams in multiple content areas

Math and reading proficiency, based on student performance on state-required tests

Math and reading performance, based on whether performance on state assessments exceeded expectations given the school’s proportion of underserved students

Underserved student performance, based on how Black, Hispanic and low-income students performed on state assessments compared with those who are not underserved in the state

Graduation rate, based on the proportion of students who entered ninth grade in 2015-2016 and graduated four years later

In compiling the list, U.S. News ranked approximately 17,860 public high schools after reviewing nearly 24,000 in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

“It’s exciting to have our students and staff recognized for their hard work by UHS being ranked among the best high schools in the nation,” University High Principal Joel Bacalia said.

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The Best High Schools list also ranks schools by state, with UHS taking the No. 2 spot for Arizona, Basis Oro Valley coming in third and Basis Tucson North ranking seventh in the state.

In addition to the top-ranking schools, other Tucson-area campuses that were recognized on the list of the top 50 in Arizona include:

Sonoran Science Academy Tucson: No. 14 in Arizona and No. 819 in the U.S.

Catalina Foothills High School: No. 19 in Arizona and No. 1,287 in the U.S.

Tanque Verde High School: No. 22 in Arizona and No. 1,678 in the U.S.

Empire High School: No. 23 in Arizona and No. 1,682 in the U.S.

Vail Academy and High School: No. 40 in Arizona and No. 2,563 in the U.S.

Academy of Tucson High School: No. 48 in Arizona and No. 2,975 in the U.S.

An evaluation of which states have the largest proportion of its high schools in the top 25% of the 2021 Best High Schools rankings placed Arizona 35th in the nation, with 17% of its schools earning that designation.

View the rankings, which also examine the best charter, magnet and STEM schools, at usnews.com/education/best-high-schools.