Using criteria based on testing ratios, U.S. News & World Report compiled its Gold Medal list of the Top 100 Public Schools in the U.S. More than 21,000 public high schools in 48 states and the District of Columbia were analyzed, and a three-step process determined the best high schools. The first two steps ensured that the schools serve all their students well, using state proficiency standards as the benchmarks, and for those schools that made it past the first two steps, a third step assessed the degree to which schools prepare students for college-level work.