Three Dallas high schools are at the head of their class when it comes to the best public high schools in Texas.

New rankings from U.S. News & World Report put Dallas ISD’s School for the Talented and Gifted at No. 8 nationally (up from No. 13 last year) among the country’s best high schools and at No. 1 in Texas. It also ranks No. 8 nationally among the best STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) high schools and No. 4 among the best magnet high schools.

Ranking second and third in Texas are two other Dallas ISD high schools:

• Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School, No. 20 nationally among the best high schools (down from No. 15 last year) and No. 8 nationally among the best magnet high schools.
• Science and Engineering Magnet School, No. 22 nationally among the best high schools (up from No. 39 last year), No. 7 nationally among the best STEM high schools, and No. 10 nationally among the best magnet high schools.

Topping the national list is Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Arlington, Virginia.

These are the rest of Texas’ top 10 among the country’s best public high schools:

• No. 34 (up from No. 41 last year), Austin ISD’s Liberal Arts and Science Academy. No. 70 nationally among the best STEM high schools.
• No. 40 (up from No. 42 last year), Houston ISD’s Carnegie Vanguard High School.
• No. 48 (up from No. 59 last year), Dallas ISD’s Judge Barefoot Sanders Law Magnet. No. 17 nationally among the best magnet high schools.
• No. 50 (down from No. 46 last year), Houston ISD’s DeBakey High School for Health Professions. No. 43 nationally among the best STEM high schools and No. 18 nationally among the best magnet high schools.
• No. 77 (up from No. 102 last year), BASIS San Antonio - Shavano Campus. No. 25 nationally among the best STEM high schools and No. 17 nationally among the best charter high schools.
• No. 78 (up from No. 108 last year), San Antonio ISD’s Young Women’s Leadership Academy. No. 18 nationally among the best charter high schools.
• No. 102 (down from No. 96 last year), Northside ISD’s Health Careers High School (San Antonio). No. 26 nationally among the best magnet high schools.

Each year, U.S. News evaluates high schools on six factors: college readiness, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth, and graduation rates. In all, more than 17,800 schools were graded.

The rankings “take a comprehensive approach to evaluating schools,” says Eric Brooks, principal data analyst at U.S. News. “Looking at factors like graduation rates and underserved student performance, families can use this information to learn more about their local schools.”