Best High Schools in Rhode Island (2025-26)
Every ranked high school in Rhode Island, ordered by SchoolGrade. A grade rewards actual test performance against the projection for each school's student context, so a B in a high-poverty school can outrank an A- elsewhere on impact. Click a column heading to sort, or filter by school, city or district.
Rhode Island rankings: High Schools · Middle Schools · Elementary Schools
Rhode Island high schools ranked
| Rank | Grade | School | City | District | Actual | Projected | Impact | Students |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | A+ | Barrington High School | Barrington | Barrington | 77% | 72% | Exceeds Expectations | 1,139 |
| #2 | A+ | East Greenwich High | East Greenwich | East Greenwich | 76% | 66% | Greatly Exceeds Expectations | 737 |
| #3 | A+ | Classical High School | Providence | Providence | 73% | 57% | Greatly Exceeds Expectations | 1,113 |
| #4 | A+ | Mt Hope High School | Bristol | Bristol Warren | 64% | 52% | Greatly Exceeds Expectations | 879 |
| #5 | A+ | Portsmouth High School | Portsmouth | Portsmouth | 62% | 58% | Exceeds Expectations | 796 |
| #6 | A+ | Block Island School (K-12) | Block Island | New Shoreham | 41% | 38% | Exceeds Expectations | 130 |
| #7 | A | North Smitfield HS | North Smithfield | North Smithfield | 62% | 45% | Greatly Exceeds Expectations | 524 |
| #8 | A | North Kingstown SR High | North Kingstown | North Kingstown | 60% | 56% | Exceeds Expectations | 1,374 |
| #9 | A | Narragansett High School | Narragansett | Narragansett | 59% | 59% | Meets Expectations | 474 |
| #10 | A | Chariho High School | Wood River Junction | Chariho | 58% | 47% | Greatly Exceeds Expectations | 1,043 |
| #11 | A- | Lincoln Senior High School | Lincoln | Lincoln | 57% | 51% | Exceeds Expectations | 976 |
| #12 | A- | South Kingstown High | Wakefield | South Kingstown | 56% | 54% | Exceeds Expectations | 789 |
| #13 | A- | Jacqueline M Walsh School | Pawtucket | Pawtucket | 55% | 26% | Greatly Exceeds Expectations | 184 |
| #14 | A- | Westerly High School | Westerly | Westerly | 55% | 43% | Greatly Exceeds Expectations | 699 |
| #15 | B+ | Exeter West Greenwich Regional | West Greenwich | Exeter-West Greenwich | 53% | 55% | Meets Expectations | 453 |
| #16 | B+ | Beacon Charter School (Charter) | Woonsocket | Beacon Charter School | 50% | 24% | Greatly Exceeds Expectations | 205 |
| #17 | B+ | Cumberland High School | Cumberland | Cumberland | 49% | 48% | Meets Expectations | 1,446 |
| #18 | B+ | Ponaganset High School | North Scituate | Foster-Glocester | 49% | 54% | Meets Expectations | 921 |
| #19 | B+ | The Greene School (Charter) | West Greenwich | The Greene School | 45% | 35% | Greatly Exceeds Expectations | 199 |
| #20 | B | Scituate High School | North Scituate | Scituate | 45% | 54% | Doesn't Meet Expectations | 374 |
| #21 | B | Middletown High School | Middletown | Middletown | 42% | 45% | Meets Expectations | 567 |
| #22 | B | Smithfield High School | Smithfield | Smithfield | 42% | 49% | Doesn't Meet Expectations | 772 |
| #23 | B | Tiverton High School | Tiverton | Tiverton | 42% | 41% | Meets Expectations | 469 |
| #24 | B- | Cranston High School West | Cranston | Cranston | 39% | 53% | Doesn't Meet Expectations | 1,715 |
| #25 | B- | Coventry High School | Coventry | Coventry | 37% | 39% | Meets Expectations | 1,301 |
| #26 | B- | North Providence High | North Providence | North Providence | 37% | 36% | Meets Expectations | 1,090 |
| #27 | C+ | Pilgrim High School | Warwick | Warwick | 37% | 45% | Doesn't Meet Expectations | 1,147 |
| #28 | C+ | Blackstone Valley Prep High (Charter) | Cumberland | Blackstone Valley Prep A RI Mayoral Academy | 36% | 23% | Greatly Exceeds Expectations | 399 |
| #29 | C+ | Burrillville High School | Harrisville | Burrillville | 36% | 36% | Meets Expectations | 657 |
| #30 | C+ | Toll Gate High School | Warwick | Warwick | 31% | 37% | Meets Expectations | 1,188 |
| #31 | C+ | West Warwick High School | West Warwick | West Warwick | 30% | 36% | Doesn't Meet Expectations | 1,047 |
| #32 | C | East Providence High | East Providence | East Providence | 28% | 39% | Doesn't Meet Expectations | 1,659 |
| #33 | C | Rogers High School | Newport | Newport | 26% | 30% | Meets Expectations | 633 |
| #34 | C | Paul Cuffee Upper School (Charter) | Providence | Paul Cuffee Charter Sch | 24% | 10% | Greatly Exceeds Expectations | 271 |
| #35 | C | Johnston Senior High | Johnston | Johnston | 23% | 30% | Doesn't Meet Expectations | 804 |
| #36 | C- | Cranston High School East | Cranston | Cranston | 21% | 32% | Doesn't Meet Expectations | 1,499 |
| #37 | C- | Woonsocket High School | Woonsocket | Woonsocket | 21% | 25% | Meets Expectations | 1,621 |
| #38 | D+ | Blackstone Academy Charter (Charter) | Pawtucket | Blackstone Academy | 17% | 15% | Meets Expectations | 351 |
| #39 | D+ | Times2 Middlehigh School (Charter) | Providence | Providence | 16% | 16% | Meets Expectations | 391 |
| #40 | D+ | Rini Middle College (Charter) | Providence | Rhode Island Nurses Institute Middle College | 15% | 16% | Meets Expectations | 370 |
| #41 | D+ | William E Tolman High | Pawtucket | Pawtucket | 13% | 17% | Meets Expectations | 1,056 |
| #42 | D | E Cubed Academy | Providence | Providence | 11% | 18% | Doesn't Meet Expectations | 346 |
| #43 | D | Hope High School | Providence | Providence | 11% | 25% | Doesn't Meet Expectations | 896 |
| #44 | D | Charette Charter School (Charter) | Providence | Charette Charter | 10% | 13% | Meets Expectations | 167 |
| #45 | D | Highlander Secondary Charter S (Charter) | Warren | Highlander | 10% | 19% | Doesn't Meet Expectations | 344 |
| #46 | D- | Central Falls SR High | Central Falls | Central Falls | 9% | 17% | Doesn't Meet Expectations | 811 |
| #47 | D- | Charles E Shea High School | Pawtucket | Pawtucket | 9% | 20% | Doesn't Meet Expectations | 870 |
| #48 | D- | Village Green Virtual (Charter) | Providence | Village Green Virtual | 9% | 21% | Doesn't Meet Expectations | 202 |
| #49 | D- | W B Cooley And Acad Internationa | Providence | Providence | 9% | 14% | Meets Expectations | 322 |
| #50 | F | Achievement First Providence H (Charter) | Providence | Achievement First Rhode Island | 34% | 11% | Greatly Exceeds Expectations | 155 |
| #51 | F | Central High School | Providence | Providence | 8% | 15% | Doesn't Meet Expectations | 1,302 |
| #52 | F | Dr Jorge Alvarez HS | Providence | Providence | 7% | 12% | Meets Expectations | 562 |
| #53 | F | Nelcps Construction Career (Charter) | Cranston | Cranston | 7% | 26% | Underperforms Expectations | 159 |
| #54 | F | Mount Pleasant High | Providence | Providence | 6% | 14% | Doesn't Meet Expectations | 1,164 |
| #55 | F | Sheila Skip Nowell | Providence | Sheila Skip Nowell Leadership Academy | 2% | 14% | Doesn't Meet Expectations | 160 |
How Rhode Island's high schools compare
A: 14B: 12C: 11D: 12F: 6
47% of the 55 ranked high schools in Rhode Island earn an A or B (14 A grades, 12 B, 11 C, 12 D, 6 F), against 50% of high schools nationwide. 37 schools meet or beat the proficiency projected from their student context (67% here, 74% nationally), and 18 exceed it. On average 35% of tested students meet the state bar against a projected 35% (national averages: 44% actual, 41% projected).
The biggest overperformers, by actual proficiency above projection: Jacqueline M Walsh School (55% against 26%, A-), Beacon Charter School (50% against 24%, B+), Achievement First Providence H (34% against 11%, F), North Smitfield HS (62% against 45%, A), Classical High School (73% against 57%, A+).
Cities with the most ranked high schools: Providence (14, 1 at A or B), Pawtucket (4, 1 at A or B), Cranston (3, 1 at A or B).
The largest ranked high schools: Cranston High School West (1,715 students, B-, #24), East Providence High (1,659 students, C, #32), Woonsocket High School (1,621 students, C-, #37).
Of the top 25, 0 are magnet schools and 2 are charters. Selective and specialised schools tend to post high actual scores; the projection column is the fairer comparison for a neighborhood school.
High schools in Rhode Island that are not ranked
6 graded high schools are listed here rather than ranked, each for the reason given. Every one has its own page with its full SchoolGrade report.
Special-purpose schools (5)
Alternative, special-education and vocational schools serve a different mission and a different student body, so they are graded but not ranked against regular schools.
- C+ Chariho Alternative Learning A, Wood River Junction
- B- Davies Career Tech High School, Lincoln
- C- Metropolitan Career Tech Ctr, Providence
- D+ Providence Career Technical, Providence
- F Ri School For The Deaf, Providence
Not yet graded (1)
Our source data has no school-level proficiency results for these schools, so they carry no SchoolGrade yet.
- 360 High School, Providence
About this ranking
- Scope: every public high school in Rhode Island.
- Order: SchoolGrade, then actual proficiency, then name; schools with the same grade and score share a rank.
- Ranked: regular public schools that NCES lists as open, not fully online, with at least 30 students. Others are listed with the reason.
- Tags: Magnet and Charter from the NCES school directory; K-12 marks schools serving every grade that are ranked with the high schools.
- Grades are the 2025-26 SchoolGrade model. How SchoolGrade works
Questions about high schools in Rhode Island
What is the best high school in Rhode Island?
Barrington High School in Barrington ranks first among the 55 ranked high schools in Rhode Island with a SchoolGrade of A+, 77% of tested students meeting the state bar against a projected 72%.
How are high schools in Rhode Island ranked?
By SchoolGrade, the 2025-26 model that scores each school's actual test proficiency against the level projected for its student context, then by actual proficiency to break ties. Regular public schools that are open, not fully online and have at least 30 students are ranked; the rest are listed below the table with the reason.
How many high schools does Rhode Island have?
SchoolGrade grades 61 public high schools in Rhode Island; 55 are ranked here and 6 are listed as not ranked.