Two St. Louis Public Schools magnet high schools top Missouri’s latest U.S. News & World Report rankings — and both landed among the top 100 nationally.
Metro Academic and Classical High School is No. 1 in Missouri and the St. Louis region and No. 22 nationally. Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience is No. 2 in both the state and region and No. 90 nationally.
“These rankings affirm something we know every day: excellence lives in SLPS,” said Dr. Isaac M. Pollack, an SLPS network superintendent.” Our students can compete with the very best students anywhere, and our educators are doing remarkable work to prepare them not simply to graduate, but to thrive in college, careers, and the world beyond our classrooms.
St. Louis-area schools took Missouri’s top four spots, with Clayton High School at No. 3 and Parkway West at No. 4. STEAM Academy at McCluer South-Berkeley in Ferguson-Florissant was No. 8 statewide and No. 6 in the metro area.
Metro and Collegiate are small compared with many of the suburban schools near the top of the rankings. Metro enrolls 317 students in grades 9-12 and Collegiate 332. Parkway West, Lafayette and Lindbergh each enroll more than 1,400.
Metro had a 99% graduation rate and college-readiness score of 91.2. Collegiate had a 96% graduation rate and 88.0 readiness score. Clayton, the highest-ranked suburban school, had a 97% graduation rate and 65.6 readiness score.
Metro sophomore Eyanna Tankins said the school has pushed her to become more independent and introduced her to advanced coursework earlier than she expected.
“At Metro, you have to go home, you have to study, you have to do things on your own time,” Eyanna said. “You have to actually perfect your craft on your own time rather than just going to school, doing the work and going straight back home.”
Metro and Collegiate differ in an important way from the traditional public high schools they outranked: Both are academically selective magnet schools. Students must apply and meet eligibility requirements, unlike traditional neighborhood schools that serve students within an attendance area.
Eyanna said Metro also exposes students to a range of advanced courses, including AP Government, AP World History and IB science courses.
“They push you to do more, like getting more involved with APs and IB classes earlier on, so you can know what to look forward to,” she said.
In North County, STEAM Academy’s sixth-place regional ranking put it ahead of Ladue Horton Watkins, Lindbergh, Kirkwood and Webster Groves. STEAM had a 98% graduation rate.
College readiness accounts for 30% of the U.S. News ranking. State assessment proficiency and performance each account for 20%. The publication also considers the breadth of college-level coursework, graduation rates and the performance of Black, Hispanic and low-income students.
McKinley Classical Leadership Academy is the next-highest SLPS school, ranking No. 13 in the St. Louis area. It had an 88% graduation rate and college-readiness score of 25.8.
Edwardsville High School is the highest-ranked Illinois school in the St. Louis region, coming in at No. 25.