Abby Kelley Foster Charter Public School emerged as Worcester’s strongest performer in the latest U.S. News & World Report’s high school rankings, placing 25th among public high schools in Massachusetts and 557th nationally.
The Worcester charter school also ranked second among high schools in the Worcester metropolitan area and 111th nationally among charter high schools, according to U.S. News’s 2026-27 Best High Schools rankings.
Charter schools such as Abby Kelley are included in the overall public high school rankings because they are publicly funded. U.S. News then separately ranks charter schools as a subset of the broader public-school list.
Abby Kelley earned an overall score of 96.9 out of 100 in the rankings. U.S. News reported a 100% graduation rate, with 68% of students taking at least one International Baccalaureate exam and 56% passing at least one.
The school also posted proficiency rates of 64% in mathematics, 75% in reading and 65% in science.
“We are so proud of the dedication our staff and students bring every day,” Acting Executive Director Grace Howard-Donlin said in a statement. “This ranking simply reflects what our community knows—AKFCS is an outstanding choice for families across Central Massachusetts.”
Howard-Donlin credited the school’s academic expectations and staff for the result.
Abby Kelley is the only Worcester school to place among Massachusetts’ top 25 public high schools in the new rankings. Other strong performers from Worcester County include schools in communities such as Westborough, Shrewsbury and Northborough, although their precise 2026-27 positions vary across the state and metro listings.
The rankings cover more than 27,000 public high schools nationwide, with nearly 18,000 receiving numerical rankings. U.S. News evaluates schools using six weighted measures: college readiness, state assessment proficiency, state assessment performance, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth and graduation rate.
College readiness carries the greatest weight, at 30%, followed by state assessment proficiency and state assessment performance at 20% each. Underserved student performance, curriculum breadth and graduation rate each account for 10%.
The rankings rely heavily on 2023-24 academic-year data, including state assessments, graduation rates and Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate participation and performance.
U.S. News said schools scoring highest were those whose students performed above expectations on state assessments, participated successfully in college-level coursework and graduated at high rates.
Abby Kelley’s strongest showing came in graduation rate, where it tied for first nationally and statewide with a 100% rate. The school also ranked seventh in Massachusetts for state assessment performance.
Its college readiness index was 59.2 out of 100, placing it 50th in Massachusetts in that category.
The school serves 321 students in grades 9 through 12 and has an 11-to-1 student-teacher ratio, according to U.S. News.
Abby Kelley has offered the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme for more than a decade. The school said the program is designed to expose students to rigorous coursework while encouraging global awareness and independent learning.
The school, founded in 1998, serves students from kindergarten through grade 12 and is named for Worcester abolitionist and women’s rights activist Abby Kelley Foster.
Massachusetts as a whole performed strongly in the new rankings. U.S. News reported that the state had the largest share of high schools in the top 25% nationally, at 47%, ahead of New Jersey and Maryland.
Boston Latin School ranked first in Massachusetts and 44th nationally, according to the published state results.
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