Three Bethesda high schools placed in Maryland's top 10 public high schools in Niche's 2027 rankings, released Tuesday, Oct. 6.

Walt Whitman High School ranked No. 5, Walter Johnson High School ranked No. 8 and Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School came in at No. 9 out of 251 public high schools statewide, according to Bethesda Magazine.

All three are among five Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS) that claimed half the top 10 spots. Poolesville High School took No. 1, and Winston Churchill High in Potomac placed No. 2. River Hill High and Marriotts Ridge High, both in Howard County, filled the No. 3 and No. 4 slots.

Whitman slipped from No. 2 in last year's Niche rankings to No. 5 this year. Year-over-year positions for Walter Johnson and B-CC were not available in the published reports.

Beyond the top 10, MCPS placed nine schools in the state's top 25, MoCo Show reported. Thomas S. Wootton (No. 16), Montgomery Blair (No. 18), Richard Montgomery (No. 19) and Northwest (No. 23) rounded out the county's showing.

Niche said it ranked 93,000 public schools, 30,000 private schools and 11,000 school districts nationwide.

This year's methodology weighs factors including state test scores, college readiness, graduation rates, teacher quality and parent and student surveys. State assessment proficiency data was a new factor. SAT and ACT scores were dropped, which Niche said reflects the de-emphasis on standardized testing in college admissions.

"Families deserve a complete view of their options, whether they're evaluating schools in their area or exploring what's available elsewhere," Luke Skurman, Niche's founder and CEO, said in a press release accompanying the rankings.

The Niche results differ from U.S. News & World Report's separate 2026–2027 rankings released in August, which placed Whitman at No. 4 in Maryland, Walter Johnson at No. 14 and B-CC at No. 17. The two systems use different methodologies, and Walter Johnson and B-CC scored notably higher on the Niche list.

The full rankings are available on Niche's website.