U.S. News ranks Whitefish in top three Montana high schools

Whitefish High School ranked third among its peers in the state this year, according to a U.S. News & World report.

The 2022 Best High Schools rankings reviewed 96 public high schools in Montana. Whitefish High School, which held the No. 2 spot last year, slid slightly to make way for top ranked Bozeman High School and Gardner High School.

Locally, Glacier High School came in at No. 12 statewide and Flathead High School at No. 15. Other area high schools among the top 50 in the state are Columbia Falls High School, No. 31; Polson High School, No. 32; Bigfork High School, No. 38; and Ronan High School, No. 50.

Nationally, 17,843 high schools, including public charter, magnet and preparatory schools, out of nearly 24,000 reviewed earned rankings.

In the national rankings, Whitefish came in at No. 2,475. Glacier came in at No. 3,688. Flathead was ranked at No. 4,612.

High-ranking public schools had students who demonstrated outstanding scores and achievement in state math, reading and science state assessments, and passed and participated in college-level exams in addition to graduating in high proportions, according to usnews.com.

In its methodology, schools were evaluated on six factors that were weighted as follows: college readiness (30%); state assessment proficiency (20%); state assessment performance (20%); underserved student performance, which focuses on Black, Hispanic and low-income students (10%); college curriculum breadth (10%); and graduation rate (10%).

The report used Common Core, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exam data to calculate rankings.

Whitefish earned an overall score of 86.13 out of 100 points. Glacier’s score was 79.33 and Flathead’s 74.15.

“The Best High Schools rankings take a comprehensive approach to evaluating schools," U.S. News Principal Data Analyst Eric Brooks said in a press release. “Looking at factors like graduation rates and underserved student performance, families can use this information to learn more about their local schools."

In a state-by-state comparison, Montana ranked 40th. State rank was determined by the total percentage of a state's ranked schools that were in the top 25%, according to U.S. News.

To view a complete list of ranked schools visit https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools.