Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJ) has been ranked the fifth best high school in the county and the first in Virginia in a new U.S. News & World Report ranking.
Released on Tuesday (Aug. 19), the ranking highlighted the magnet school’s unique, STEM-focused program offerings and amenities, including its 15 specialized research labs, courses like DNA science and advanced marine biology, and a student-led academic journal.
Though it has been ranked highly in the past by U.S. News as well as other media outlets, TJ has also been the center of controversy in recent years after some parents and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares argued that recent changes to its admissions policy constituted discrimination against Asian American students.
The Fairfax County School Board revised the admissions process in 2020 in an effort to give students from a wider range of backgrounds a better shot at acceptance. Among other changes, the board eliminated an application fee and a notoriously challenging standardized test, and added consideration of “experience” factors, such as a student’s status as economically disadvantaged or an English language learner.
Last year, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear a lawsuit about the admissions changes from a coalition of parents after an appeals court sided with Fairfax County Public Schools. The U.S. Department of Education, however, launched an investigation into FCPS earlier this year over its revisions to the TJ admissions process.
While TJ was the only Fairfax high school ranked in the top 100 nationally, other local high schools scored highly within Virginia:
- No. 3 — Langley High School
- No. 5 — Woodson High School
- No. 6 — Oakton High School
- No. 7 — Meridian High School (Falls Church)
- No. 8 — McLean High School
- No. 9 — Marshall High School
- No. 10 — Madison High School
- No. 12 — West Springfield High School
- No. 15 — Chantilly High School
- No. 18 — Lake Braddock Secondary School
- No. 19 — Robinson Secondary School
For its 2025-2026 high school rankings, U.S. News says it considered nearly 24,000 eligible public high schools across the country, evaluating them based on test scores, graduation rates and curriculum breadth as well as their effectiveness at serving all students and preparing students for college.
Nationally, TJ was beaten out this year by two charter schools — BASIS Tucson North in Arizona (no. 1) and Signature School in Indiana (no. 2) — along with Central Magnet School in Tennessee and Davidson Academy, a public school for “gifted” students in Nevada.
“Students and families need data to help them make one of the most important decisions of their academic journey. Our Best High Schools rankings provide the insights to help them identify schools that will prepare students for college success,” LaMont Jones, the managing editor for education at U.S. News, said. “Access to information isn’t just helpful— it’s essential for planning a student’s future.
