Michigan features four high schools among the top 100 in the nation, according to rankings by U.S. News released last week.

Four schools is more impressive than it might initially sound as Michigan rates as just one of eight states with four or more schools on the list.

Based on several measurements of academic success, U.S. News reviewed more than 23,000 high schools and ranked more than 17,000 of them. Many of the top performers are concentrated in a few major metropolitan areas such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago.

In fact, what’s striking about the outcome of the top 100 rankings is that 22 states have no schools listed. Nearly all of the states with schools who made the grade are located east of the Mississippi River or in the Sunbelt. The entire middle of the country — from Nevada and Montana to Missouri and Minnesota – contains no top high schools.

In the Upper Midwest, Michigan and Illinois are the cream of the crop with four schools each, while Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa have none; Indiana has one and Ohio has two.

The rankings are based on these metrics: college readiness of graduates, school curriculum, math and reading scores, graduation rates, and student performance among minorities and low-income kids.

The top-rated school in Michigan, and No. 8 in the nation, is the International Academy of Macomb in Clinton Township. The IAM was also ranked best in the state in 2018 and frequently places as one of the top three schools in Michigan.

Here are the top 10 high schools in Michigan — all but two are located in southeast Michigan:

  1. International Academy of Macomb, Clinton Township (U.S. rank, 8th)
  2. City High-Middle School, Grand Rapids (38th)
  3. International Academy, Bloomfield Hills (43rd)
  4. Washtenaw International High School, Ypsilanti (83rd)
  5. Rochester Adams High School, Rochester Hills (269th)
  6. Black River Public School, Holland (292nd)
  7. Troy High School, Troy (349th)
  8. Northville High School, Northville (385th)
  9. Seaholm High School, Birmingham (388th)
  10. Skyline High School, Ann Arbor (408th)