U.S. News & World Report released their annual rankings of our nation's top schools last week.

Michigan's results include the fifth ranked high school in the country and a good showing from a few West Michigan area schools.

Defining the "best" school is a difficult, highly subjective task.  This list is an attempt to rank college readiness.  It is important to understand how the rankings were determined.  Detroitnews.com explains:

Researchers for the magazine looked at nearly 22,000 public high schools in  49 states and the District of Columbia and produced rankings for the 4,813  highest-scoring schools. It teamed with the Washington, D.C.-based American  Institute for Research and used a three-step process for selecting schools.

The "Best High Schools" list includes data on enrollment, ethnicity, state  assessment proficiency tests and Advanced Placement and International  Baccalaureate tests. The schools were each given a college readiness score and ranked numerically.

Nationally ranked Michigan schools include:

5 - International Academy, Bloomfield Hills

261 - Black River, Holland

519 - City Middle/High, Grand Rapids

524 - Spring Lake, Spring Lake

539 - Portage Northern, Portage

Other West Michigan schools ranked in the top 1,000 include:  Jenison, Forest Hills Central, East Grand Rapids, Hudsonville, and Zeeland West .  View Michigan's complete rankings here.

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