Jacksonville's Top 10 High Schools

[fsu813]

As determined by US News & World report:

https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/education/2024/09/23/what-are-the-jacksonville-areas-best-public-high-schools-ten-picks/75306371007/

It was interesting to me that 5 are in older, more urban areas and 5 are in newer, more suburban areas. In order of their ranking:

Stanton
Paxson
Darnell Cookman
Ponte Vedra
Douglas Anderson
Wolfson
Creekside
Nease
Fleming Island
Bartram Trail

*Go Blue Devils*

[thelakelander]

Which ones are magnet schools?

[CityLife]

All five of the Duval County schools are magnets. Wolfson used to be a very average high school, but must have made a big rankings jump after getting an IB program.

[CityLife]

Here are the rankings of Duval County Schools

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/florida/districts/duval-county-public-schools-112716

Rank in the State:
Stanton #5, Paxon #19, Darnell Cookman #20, DA #30, Wolfson #33, River City Science Academy #82, Fletcher #140, Atlantic Coast #178, Mandarin #205, Duval Charter #245, San Jose Prep #274, Baldwin #341, Sandalweed #342, Andrew Jackson #353, Lee #390, First Coast #470, Raines #492, Peterson #496, Ribault #504, White #508, APR Academy #537, Biscayne #537, Englewood #537, Parker #537, Westside #537.

SJC

PV #29, Creekside #42, Nease #54, Bartram Trail #79, St. Augustine #273, Menendez #332.

Clay

Fleming Island #77, Ridgeview #175, Oakleaf #195, Orange Park #199, Middleburg #218, Keystone Heights #334, Clay #343

Nassau

Fernandina Beach #124, Hillard #240, Yulee #286, West Nassau #301.

[CG7]

These must be old rankings, Lee hasn't been a school name for a few years.

[CityLife]

It's the 2024 rankings. You can click on Robert Lee High School and it says 2024 rankings. Bizarre that it hasn't been updated.

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/florida/districts/duval-county-public-schools/robert-e-lee-high-school-4959

[Charles Hunter]

Here are the rankings of Duval County Schools

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/florida/districts/duval-county-public-schools-112716

Rank in the State:
Stanton #5, Paxon #19, Darnell Cookman #20, DA #30, Wolfson #33, River City Science Academy #82, Fletcher #140, Atlantic Coast #178, Mandarin #205, Duval Charter #245, San Jose Prep #274, Baldwin #341, Sandalweed #342, Andrew Jackson #353, Lee #390, First Coast #470, Raines #492, Peterson #496, Ribault #504, White #508, APR Academy #537, Biscayne #537, Englewood #537, Parker #537, Westside #537.

Unless they've renumbered the schools, when I went to Lee (on horseback, uphill both ways) was #33.
Yep. Just checked the DCPS website, Riverside High (ne Lee) is #33.

[CityLife]

Here are the rankings of Duval County Schools

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/florida/districts/duval-county-public-schools-112716

Rank in the State:
Stanton #5, Paxon #19, Darnell Cookman #20, DA #30, Wolfson #33, River City Science Academy #82, Fletcher #140, Atlantic Coast #178, Mandarin #205, Duval Charter #245, San Jose Prep #274, Baldwin #341, Sandalweed #342, Andrew Jackson #353, Lee #390, First Coast #470, Raines #492, Peterson #496, Ribault #504, White #508, APR Academy #537, Biscayne #537, Englewood #537, Parker #537, Westside #537.

Unless they've renumbered the schools, when I went to Lee (on horseback, uphill both ways) was #33.
Yep. Just checked the DCPS website, Riverside High (ne Lee) is #33.

The number listed is their state ranking, not DCPS #.

[Charles Hunter]

Here are the rankings of Duval County Schools

https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/florida/districts/duval-county-public-schools-112716

Rank in the State:
Stanton #5, Paxon #19, Darnell Cookman #20, DA #30, Wolfson #33, River City Science Academy #82, Fletcher #140, Atlantic Coast #178, Mandarin #205, Duval Charter #245, San Jose Prep #274, Baldwin #341, Sandalweed #342, Andrew Jackson #353, Lee #390, First Coast #470, Raines #492, Peterson #496, Ribault #504, White #508, APR Academy #537, Biscayne #537, Englewood #537, Parker #537, Westside #537.

Unless they've renumbered the schools, when I went to Lee (on horseback, uphill both ways) was #33.
Yep. Just checked the DCPS website, Riverside High (ne Lee) is #33.

The number listed is their state ranking, not DCPS #.

See, I graduated from there and didn't figure this out.

I will now go sit in the corner. 

[jaxlongtimer]

Interesting.  For all the criticisms and negative perceptions of Duval schools, 3 high schools rank higher than the best one in SJC which many consider as having the best schools in NE FL.  And, Duval has 5 of the top 6. 

Duval's top charter schools are #6 and #10 in the county.

It's why I take all this with a grain of salt.  Rankings and preconceived perceptions, good or bad, about schools, are often off the mark.  First, every school has a range of teachers, good and bad.  Second, within schools, often there are multiple tracks/programs, and the rankings blend these, it appears.  So, a school with a smaller percentage of students on a college track, for example, may show a lower overall ranking.  Yet, within that track, it may be just as good or better than the college track of another school with a higher percentage of students in that track.  Likewise, skills oriented schools may be excellent for their programs which may not align with ranking standards.

Then there is the oft noted complaint that some schools, often charters, don't cater to the diversity of students that a traditional school does, thereby boosting their scores.  Here, it may be public schools educating students with learning or other disabilities or disadvantages that don't comport with conventional evaluation methods.

Bottom line, one needs to not generalize, but investigate the specific program in your target school to see if it is best for your student.  Rankings, school grading, social media buzz, etc. are starting points but may not be truly indicative of what a given school has to offer.  I have observed traditional public schools sometimes running circles around the best private schools.  No different than public universities with programs that are competitive with the highest rated "ivy league" type universities.