Local schools ranked top 20 in the state by U.S. News and World Report

U.S. News and World Report released its list of the best Alabama high schools earlier this week, with Oak Mountain, Spain Park and Chelsea High School making it into the top 20. 

Oak Mountain High School was ranked No. 5, following Loveless Academic Magnet Program High School in Montgomery, Mountain Brook High School, Homewood High School and Bob Jones High School in Madison as the top four. Spain Park High School came in at No. 14, and Chelsea High School was No. 19.

Oak Mountain and Spain Park high schools also ranked in the top 20 last year.

According to the website, U.S. News and World Report bases its rankings on several factors, including each school's relative performance in its states, how historically underserved students perform compared to the state average, if students were prepared for college level coursework and if the student graduation rate was above 80 percent.

In addition to the rankings, some schools received a gold, silver or bronze medal. The gold medal went to the top 500 schools based on highest college readiness, silver went to high-performing schools based on lower college readiness and bronze went to high-performing schools based on state exam performance, according to the website. Oak Mountain, Spain Park and Chelsea all received a silver medal.

The full listing of schools can be found here.