The 20 best public high schools in Alabama (2015-2016)

Loveless Academic Magnet Program, Montgomery, Ala.

Niche, a site that seeks to “make choosing a neighborhood, college, or K-12 school a more transparent process” by “providing reviews and insight from everyday experts,” is out with its annual list of the top high schools in the nation, and Alabama is well represented with 7 schools in the top 500 (out of 23,861).

“The 2016 Best Public High Schools ranking provides a comprehensive assessment of the overall experience of a public high school,” Niche explains. “This grade takes into account key factors such as the strength of academics, quality of teachers, school resources, the quality of student life, as well as student and parent reviews, in an attempt to measure the overall excellence of the school.”

Niche considers the following factors when compiling its rankings:

Academics grade (50% of total score), health and safety grade (10%), parent/student surveys on overall experience (10%), student culture and diversity grade (10%), teachers grade (10%), resources and facilities grade (5%), extracurriculars and activities grade (2.5%), sports and fitness grade (2.5%).

“Our rankings are different, and for good reason,” writes Niche. “We believe that the quality of a school or district should be measured, at least in part, by the parents and students who actually go there. They should also be measured by hard data and across a number of key factors so that no one factor dominates a ranking. Most importantly, they should be measured by their results. The most unique thing about our rankings is that they incorporate student outcomes.”

It will come as no surprise to longtime public school watchers in Alabama that Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School (LAMP) comes in at the top of the list in the Yellowhammer State. The Washington Post previously ranked the renowned high school the 50th most challenging in the United States, noting that 100 percent of its graduates pass at least on college level test during their time on campus. Niche ranked LAMP the 160th best high school in the United States this year.

The top 20 public high schools in Alabama can be found below. The full list can be seen over at Niche.

(State rank, national rank, school name, location)
1. (160) Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School (Montgomery)
2. (237) Homewood High School (Homewood)
3. (256) Mountain Brook High School (Mountain Brook)
4. (272) Spain Park High School (Hoover)
5. (301) Bob Jones High School (Madison)
6. (474) Auburn High School (Auburn)
7. (475) Hoover High School (Hoover)
8. Vestavia Hills High School (Vestavia Hills)
9. Florence High School (Florence)
10. Hartselle High School (Hartselle)
11. Oak Mountain High School (Indian Springs)
12. New Century Tech Demo High School (Huntsville)
13. Muscle Shoals High School (Muscle Shoals)
14. Ramsay High School (Birmingham)
15. Flomaton High School (Flomaton)
16. Booker T. Washington Magnet High School (Montgomery)
17. Hewitt-Trussville High School (Trussville)
18. Cullman High School (Cullman)
19. Fort Payne High School (Fort Payne)
20. Enterprise High School (Enterprise)