Woodbury Math And Science Academy’s middle school and high school rank No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in a new list of Minnesota’s 50 best public schools in each grade-level category.

Two other local schools – East Ridge High School and Woodbury Senior High School – also were among those ranked best in Minnesota by Niche.com, a 23-year-old reviews clearinghouse and resource guide for K-12 schools, colleges, and cities across the US.

East Ridge was ranked 26th best among public high schools in Minnesota, followed by Woodbury Senior High at No. 27.

Woodbury Math And Science Academy’s high school also was ranked #252 in Niche’s national rankings, which were derived based on information about more than 93,000 public high schools nationwide.

No other Woodbury middle schools cracked this year’s Niche top 50 in Minnesota. Niche did not publish national public middle school rankings.

Math And Science Academy High School, Woodbury Senior High School and/or East Ridge High School have been ranked among Minnesota’s top 50 public high schools by Niche and US News And World Report for several years.

“We’re all really proud. It’s always exciting to be recognized for what we do,” said Kate Hinton, executive director of Math And Science Academy High School.

“The kids are excited to be at a top-ranked school, and I think that motivates them. It almost becomes  like a self-fulfilling prophecy in some ways in that when they feel like top students, they continue to become one by putting in the extra work that they know is necessary.” 

Niche.com, originally known as College Prowler, was founded in 2002 as a publisher of print guidebooks on US colleges and universities.

The organization emphasizes that its rankings go beyond standardized-test results and academic performance to include US Department of Education quantitative data on teachers, resources and facilities, as well as the opinions of students, alumni and parents. Niche.com’s data sources are listed here.