EDUCATION

Indianapolis' top high schools: U.S. News & World Report says Zionsville edges Carmel

Arika Herron
IndyStar

Does your child attend one of the Indianapolis area's top high schools? If you live just outside the city, the answer is likely yes.

A new ranking of the Indianapolis area's best high schools finds that most of those schools aren't actually in the city but rather just outside it.

Suburban schools in the doughnut counties surrounding Indianapolis took most of the top spots in rankings released this week by U.S. News and World Report. The metro-area rankings are a new spin on the national list of top high schools that was released last month.

“Families, students and school officials have often told U.S. News they are interested in directly comparing high schools in their region, and this is one step closer to fulfilling that goal,” U.S. News chief data strategist Robert Morse said. “Now, residents in more than 900 metro areas across the country can see which local schools are succeeding at educating and graduating their students.”

The metropolitan areas are cities and the surrounding area, based on 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data.

Using data from the U.S. Department of Education, the College Board and statewide standardized tests, U.S. News evaluated schools on college readiness, graduation rates, and math and reading levels.

In total, the 2019 rankings include 17,245 public high schools, a large increase from U.S. News’ 2018 rankings of just under 3,000 schools.

A full database for all 933 metro areas in the U.S. can be found here.

In Indianapolis, the high ranking of suburban high schools is not a surprise. The counties surrounding Indianapolis — and the kids going to school in them — tend to be more affluent and the schools better resourced. They're often able to offer more of the kinds of advanced classes that U.S. News considers in its rankings. Students in those schools tend to perform better on state tests and graduate in higher numbers.

The best high schools in the Indianapolis area

1. Zionsville Community High School

  • District: Zionsville Community Schools
  • Enrollment: 1,928
  • Graduation rate: 97%

2. Carmel High School

  • District: Carmel Clay Schools
  • Enrollment: 5,000
  • Graduation rate: 98%

3. Herron High School (Indianapolis)

  • District: Charter (part of Indianapolis Public Schools innovation network)
  • Enrollment: 827
  • Graduation rate: 96%

4. Westfield High School

  • District: Westfield-Washington Schools
  • Enrollment: 2,146
  • Graduation rate: 95%

5. Fishers High School

  • District: Hamilton Southeastern Schools
  • Enrollment: 3,250
  • Graduation rate: 97%

6. Hamilton Southeastern High School (Fishers)

  • District: Hamilton Southeastern Schools
  • Enrollment: 3,118
  • Graduation rate: 97%

7. Brownsburg High School

  • District: Brownsburg Community Schools
  • Enrollment: 2,629
  • Graduation rate: 97%

8. Avon High School

  • District: Avon Community Schools
  • Enrollment: 2,891
  • Graduation rate: 97%

9. Shortridge High School (Indianapolis)

  • District: Indianapolis Public Schools
  • Enrollment: 361
  • Graduation rate: 88%

10. Franklin Central High School (Indianapolis)

  • District: Franklin Township Schools
  • Enrollment: 2,659
  • Graduation rate: 97%

USA Today contributed to this report. 

Call IndyStar education reporter Arika Herron at 317-201-5620 or email her at Arika.Herron@indystar.com. Follow her on Twitter: @ArikaHerron.