3. Winston-Salem

US News & World Report issues an annual ranking of the best high schools in the nation. About 140 schools from North Carolina made the 2015 list of the almost 30,000 that were reviewed, and just 40 of them were ranked nationally. Though Winston-Salem has some fine high schools — Atkins Academy & Technology High and Carter G. Woodson School scored the best — none of them made the Top 40.

2. High Point

High Point gets the No. 2 slot with the Penn-Griffin School for the Arts, which was listed as the eighth best in the state and 240 in the national rankings. Its students are above average in college readiness, algebra and English, and the student-teacher ratio of 14:1 is enviable.

1. Greensboro

The Gate City topped this micro list on the strength of the Early College at Guilford, the 40th best high school in the country and second best in the state, and Weaver Academy, fourth best in the state and No. 100 in the country. No. 1 on the list is Raleigh Charter High School, and I suspect the only reason Guilford got bumped is because algebra is not part of the curriculum and because of a high student-teacher ratio of 24:1.

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