U.S. News rankings show the top high schools in Detroit are all charter schools

The U.S. News and World Report rankings of the Best High Schools in America have been announced for 2024, and once again, the top open-enrollment high schools in Detroit are all charter schools.

Considered the gold standard of school rankings, U.S. News and World Report ranks every high school in the country using a sophisticated formula that looks at college readiness, college curriculum breadth, state assessment proficiency and performance, underserved student performance and graduation rates.

When you look at open-enrollment high schools (schools that don’t require high test scores for admittance), the top six high schools in Detroit in the U.S. News rankings are all charter schools. By law, charter schools must accept any student that applies. They’re free, public and open to all.

According to the U.S. News rankings, the top six open-enrollment high schools in Detroit are:

1. Detroit Edison Public School Academy
2. Cesar Chavez Academy
3. Universal Academy
4. Jalen Rose Leadership Academy
5. Frontier International Academy
6. University Preparatory Academy

Michigan Association of Public School Academies President Dan Quisenberry said the rankings are one more piece of evidence that charter schools lead the way when it comes to performance.

“This is no coincidence,” Quisenberry said. “By every metric – graduation rates, ACT scores, college acceptance, academic rankings – the top high schools in Detroit are all charter schools. That’s why they’re so popular among families in Detroit. As we look to raise the bar at every public school in the city, we should look at what’s working. Charter schools are working.”

Quisenberry also pointed out that it’s been a banner year for other reasons at the Detroit Edison Public School Academy (DEPSA).

“DEPSA was just named the best academic high school in Detroit by U.S. News and World Report, and a few weeks ago, they won the state championship in girls basketball,” he said. “On top of that, one of their amazing graduates, Rickea Jackson, was recently taken in the first round of the WNBA draft. There’s a whole lot to be proud of at DEPSA these days.”