Summit High School ranks second among seven nearby high schools in the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings, trailing only Millburn in a regional comparison that shows New Providence climbing past Governor Livingston and three other local schools.

The 2026-2027 Best High Schools rankings, released Aug. 18, placed Summit at No. 30 in New Jersey and No. 499 nationally, according to NJ Family. Millburn topped the local group at No. 15 statewide (No. 294 nationally), while Chatham came in third at No. 38 (No. 625 nationally).

New Providence High School's jump to No. 48 statewide, as we reported Aug. 25, placed it above Westfield (No. 49), Madison (No. 50) and Governor Livingston in the seven-school comparison. Governor Livingston, Berkeley Heights' high school, did not crack the top 50 in New Jersey this year.

A four-year trend analysis by NJ21st, published Aug. 25 by a confidentially sourced educator, found that Summit and Millburn have held the top two positions among these schools every year since 2023. Chatham has remained close behind Summit throughout.

The picture is less stable further down the list. "New Providence, Madison, and Governor Livingston have seen their rankings greatly fluctuate over the past four years," the NJ21st analysis noted. Westfield has stayed in the middle of the group during that span.

All seven schools still perform well. Each lands in the top quarter of New Jersey's 522 ranked high schools, and five of the seven score in the top 10 percent of SAT composite scores statewide.

The rankings use six weighted factors: college readiness (30%), state assessment proficiency (20%), state assessment performance (20%), underserved student performance (10%), college curriculum breadth (10%) and graduation rate (10%). All data comes from the 2023-2024 school year. LaMont Jones, Ed.D., managing editor for education at U.S. News, said the rankings are meant to give families data and transparency when choosing schools, according to a U.S. News press release.

Summit High School reported a 95% graduation rate and a college readiness score of 66.6, according to Daily Voice. The school enrolls 1,198 students in grades 9 through 12.

No Summit, New Providence or Berkeley Heights school officials have publicly commented on the comparative rankings. The NJ21st analysis cautioned against reading too much into a single year's results: "One ranking from one year is not the best picture of a high school."

New Jersey placed 44% of its high schools in the top national quarter, second only to Massachusetts at 47%.