Queens residents should look no further than their own borough to get the best public high school education in the city.
The Baccalaureate School for Global Education (BSGE) in Astoria was just ranked the number one school in New York City by U.S. News and World Report. It was also ranked ninth among all public high schools in the entire country.
Two other Queens high schools were included in the U.S. News ranking: Townsend Harris High School in Flushing and Queens High School for the Sciences at York College in Jamaica, which placed seventh and ninth, respectively, in New York. In terms of national rankings, these schools also ranked 46th and 63rd in the country.
According to U.S. News and World Report, school rankings are determined by students’ performance in state testing and how well the institution prepares students for college. This year, students at BSGE scored 99 percent in both math and reading, which is higher when compared to scores at the district and state levels.
The school also boasts a 100 percent graduation rate and scored 100 in “college readiness” of students based on statistics from the 2015 to 2016 school year. Students at Townsend Harris and Queens High School for the Sciences fared similarly in state testing scores.
BSGE opened in September 2002, and quickly climbed the ranks as one of the top public schools in New York City. In April 2005, the school was authorized as an official International Baccalaureate World School. One hundred percent of the students tested passed the IB exams from 2015 to 2016. There are currently 487 students from grades 7 to 12 enrolled at BSGE who come from several neighborhoods across Queens.
In addition to enrolling students who perform well academically, BSGE is known for their diverse student body. According to statistics that U.S. News and World Report obtained from government reports, 69 percent of the students enrolled are minorities. 49 percent of those students are Asian, 15 percent are Hispanic, 2 percent are black, 2 percent identify as two or more races and 1 percent are American Indian/Alaskan Natives.
Each year, U.S. News and World Report ranks the best public high schools, as well as colleges and graduate schools across the nation. The high schools are further broken down by state, charter schools, magnate schools and STEM schools. The full list of top New York City schools can be found here.
