America's Best High Schools: The Top 20

For our annual list of the best high schools in America, we scoured the country, narrowing tens of thousands down to just over sixteen hundred. Here, a look at the cream of the crop, the top twenty schools in the country, how they're preparing their students so well for college, and where those students are pursuing their degrees—from Florida State to MIT.

Also: don't miss our list of the schools too elite to be included in our rankings,  Jay Mathews on why AP testing is so important for college preparation. And, you can find the complete list of America's Best High Schools here.