By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Lynnfield High School has been recognized by two publications once again.
“U.S. News & World Report” has ranked LHS as the 45th best high school in Massachusetts and as the 1,156th best high school in the country in its September issue.
Principal Patricia Puglisi said LHS’ recognition was made possible due to students’ and educators’ hard work.
“We are proud of all of the work our students and staff do each day,” Puglisi wrote in an email sent to the Villager. “School rankings are one small measure of a school. It is nice, however, to see an acknowledgement that Lynnfield High School is among the leaders on the North Shore. It is important to review our data regularly to find areas for growth and areas for celebration. In my short time at Lynnfield High School, I have learned of the strong school culture that exists. There is tremendous pride in being a Pioneer.”
Superintendent Kristen Vogel agreed.
“I am not surprised to see that LHS is, according to ‘U.S. News & World Report,’ in the top 50 of high schools in Massachusetts, as our students perform very well on the MCAS and Advanced Placement exams and our graduation rate is almost perfect,” Vogel wrote in an email. “I am concerned though that the data used to determine this measure is old data and reflective of only certain aspects of LHS, albeit important ones: MCAS, AP courses and college readiness.”
“U.S. News” used data from the 2020-2021 academic year, which occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, to compile the rankings. According to “U.S. News,” the high school had a 99 percent graduation rate and 69 percent of students took at least one AP exam.
Additionally, “U.S. News” recalled that LHS had a 91 percent reading proficiency rate, an 86 percent science proficiency rate and an 81 percent math proficiency rate. The publication used MCAS data to determine the proficiency rates for English, math and science. “U.S. News & World Report” noted that Lynnfield High had a 12-1 student-teacher ratio.
“U.S. News” ranked Boston Latin School as the best high school in Massachusetts for the 2023-2024 academic year. The Pioneer Valley Immersion Charter School in Hadley was second. The Bromfield School in Harvard was ranked third. Sturgis Charter Public School in Hyannis was fourth. Dover-Sherborn Regional High School was ranked fifth.
Lynnfield High was one of several Metro Boston and North Shore high schools recognized by “U.S. News & World Report.” Lexington High School was ranked sixth. Manchester-Essex Regional High School was 28th overall. Winchester High School was ranked 29th. Brookline High School was 35th overall. Arlington High School was ranked 36th. Andover High School was 42nd overall. Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School was ranked 51st overall.
The publication ranked The Early College at Guilford in Greensboro, North Carolina as the best high school in the United States. “U.S. News” partnered with nonprofit social science research firm RTI International to compile the “2023-2024 Best High School Rankings.”
“‘U.S. News’ ranked approximately 17,680 public high schools out of nearly 25,000 reviewed,” the publication wrote on its website. “This is the count of public high schools that had a 12th grade enrollment of 15 students or greater, or otherwise had sufficient enrollment in other high school grades, during the 2020-2021 school year to be analyzed. We did this by summing their weighted scores across six indicators of school quality; then computed a single zero to 100 overall score reflective of a school’s performance across these metrics. The overall scores depict how well each school did on a national percentile basis.”
In addition to “U.S. News” recognizing LHS, “Boston Magazine” ranked the high school as the 33rd best public high school in Greater Boston this year. Vogel recalled that “Boston Magazine” ranked the high school 56th last year.
“Boston Magazine” used data from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to compile the best high schools in Greater Boston that are located within the Route 495 corridor. The publication ranked Weston High School as the best high school in Greater Boston. Manchester-Essex Regional High School was second. Dover-Sherborn Regional High School was ranked third. Wayland High was fourth, and Acton-Boxborough Regional High School was ranked fifth.
While Vogel was pleased that both publications recognized Lynnfield High, she said, “There is so much more that makes LHS a wonderful high school for so many students.”
“Our students have strong relationships with staff and coaches, and have access to many extracurriculars,” Vogel stated. “Our students are also learning the skills to read and think critically, write effectively, problem-solve and communicate clearly, and the soft skills of empathy, kindness, compassion and respect. All of this is not reflected in ‘U.S. News & World Report,’ and they are all a part of what makes LHS a top high school in Massachusetts.”
