Which NJ high schools' students performed best when taking the SAT? Here are the superstars.

When it comes to articles about rankings, there is a lot of, well, garbage out there.

Many digital sites, especially those with radio station DJs as writers, tend to glom onto any news release they can easily rewrite to post on their websites, and some public relations companies are eager to accommodate with ranking reports. What state has the best pizza? What state has the worst drivers? You've seen those articles. Most are pulled together with fatally flawed methodologies.

However, there are valid and reliable statistics that can be ranked. At acrossnj.com we hunt for data that can give us valuable insight into our lives across New Jersey. One source of such annual data is the New Jersey Department of Education's Performance Reports. 

We could debate how well the state education statistics measure student achievement. But they provide detail on how well each school or district is doing its job. 

One statistic is the average SAT scores for students from each NJ public high school. Granted, many colleges no longer require SAT scores and rely instead on GPA or essays. Yet the SAT scores often can show the standout high schools across New Jersey.

Listed below are the latest available average math and reading and writing SAT scores. We have taken the 25 schools with the highest scores on each test in each of the three areas of New Jersey: North, Central and South. (Yes, we know that what is "central" can be debated. We used the state government's official map of New Jersey and combined the "Central Jersey" and "Central Jersey Debatable" counties into one category.

In 2022-2023, the state average math SAT score was 525 and the average reading and writing score was 533.

Here's the comparable breakdown of the high schools that performed the best, with the county and average SAT score:

NORTH JERSEY, MATH: Bergen County Academies, Bergen, 745; Millburn High School, Essex, 694; Bergen County Technical High School - Teterboro, Bergen, 680; Tenafly High School, Bergen, 666; Dr Ronald McNair High School, Hudson, 659; Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest, Bergen, 647; Ridgewood High School, Bergen, 646; Northern Highlands Regional High School, Bergen, 638; Livingston High School, Essex, 633; Cresskill High School, Bergen, 629; Morris County School of Technology, Morris, 627; Glen Rock High School, Bergen, 625; Chatham High School, Morris, 622; Diana C. Lobosco STEM Academy, Passaic, 621; Mountain Lakes High School, Morris, 619; Glen Ridge High School, Essex, 619; West Morris Mendham High School, Morris, 614; Montville Township High School, Morris, 612; Morris Hills High School, Morris, 608; Leonia High School, Bergen, 605; Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan, Bergen, 604; Madison High School, Morris, 599; River Dell Regional High School, Bergen, 599; West Morris Central High School, Morris, 594; Parsippany Hills High School, Morris, 592; Mahwah High School, Bergen, 592.

NORTH JERSEY, READING AND WRITING: Bergen County Academies, Bergen, 718; Millburn High School, Essex, 681; Bergen County Technical High School - Teterboro, Bergen, 665; Tenafly High School, Bergen, 652; Dr Ronald McNair High School, Hudson, 646; Morris County School of Technology, Morris, 643; Northern Valley Regional High School at Demarest, Bergen, 638; Ridgewood High School, Bergen, 637; Mountain Lakes High School, Morris, 634; Livingston High School, Essex, 632; Glen Rock High School, Bergen, 630; Chatham High School, Morris, 623; Glen Ridge High School, Essex, 623; Northern Highlands Regional High School, Bergen, 620; Cresskill High School, Bergen, 614; West Morris Mendham High School, Morris, 614; Morris Hills High School, Morris, 604; Columbia High School, Essex, 604; River Dell Regional High School, Bergen, 603; Pascack Hills High School, Bergen, 600; Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan, Bergen, 599; Montville Township High School, Morris, 599; Mahwah High School, Bergen, 598; Madison High School, Morris, 598; Diana C. Lobosco STEM Academy, Passaic, 595; Leonia High School, Bergen, 595.

CENTRAL JERSEY, MATH: High Technology High School, Monmouth, 780; Edison Academy Magnet School, Middlesex, 772; Biotechnology High School, Monmouth, 750; Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science, Ocean, 723; Union County Magnet High School, Union, 716; Woodbridge Academy Magnet School, Middlesex, 712; Hunterdon County Academies, Hunterdon, 709; Academy For Information Technology, Union, 707; Monmouth County Academy of Allied Health and Science, Monmouth, 701; West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, Mercer, 698; Academy For Allied Health Sciences, Union, 686; Montgomery High School, Somerset, 677; John P. Stevens High School, Middlesex, 673; West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, Mercer, 670; Marine Academy of Science and Technology, Monmouth, 667; Communications High School, Monmouth, 665; Ridge High School, Somerset, 648; Princeton High School, Mercer, 648; South Brunswick High School, Middlesex, 638; Summit High School, Union, 636; Robbinsville High School, Mercer, 620; Bridgewater-Raritan High School, Somerset, 619; Westfield Senior High School, Union, 616; Monroe Township High School, Middlesex, 616; Hillsborough High School, Somerset, 614.

CENTRAL JERSEY, READING AND WRITING: High Technology High School, Monmouth, 752; Edison Academy Magnet School, Middlesex, 750; Biotechnology High School, Monmouth, 720; Hunterdon County Academies, Hunterdon, 708; Woodbridge Academy Magnet School, Middlesex, 698; Union County Magnet High School, Union, 696; Monmouth County Academy of Allied Health and Science, Monmouth, 693; Academy For Information Technology, Union, 691; Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science, Ocean, 681; Academy For Allied Health Sciences, Union, 679; West Windsor-Plainsboro High School North, Mercer, 672; Communications High School, Monmouth, 670; Marine Academy of Science and Technology, Monmouth, 665; Montgomery High School, Somerset, 661; Princeton High School, Mercer, 650; West Windsor-Plainsboro High School South, Mercer, 646; Ridge High School, Somerset, 641; John P. Stevens High School, Middlesex, 640; Bernards High School, Somerset, 625; Summit High School, Union, 624; South Brunswick High School, Middlesex, 620; Union County Tech, Union, 616; Westfield Senior High School, Union, 613; Academy For Performing Arts, Union, 613; Watchung Hills Regional High School, Somerset, 613.

SOUTH JERSEY, MATH: Moorestown High School, Burlington, 620; Haddonfield Memorial High School, Camden, 612; Cherry Hill High School East, Camden, 604; Lenape High School, Burlington, 583; Florence Township Memorial High School, Burlington, 576; Northern Burlington County Regional High School, Burlington, 570; Eastern Regional High School, Camden, 568; Haddon Township High School, Camden, 566; Clearview Regional High School, Gloucester, 566; Gloucester County Institute of Technology, Gloucester, 559; Cherokee High School, Burlington, 558; Ocean City High School, Cape May, 558; Mainland Regional High School, Atlantic, 555; Rancocas Valley Regional High School, Burlington, 550; Kingsway Regional High School, Gloucester, 549; Cumberland County Technical Education Center, Cumberland, 548; Bordentown Regional High School, Burlington, 545; Lower Cape May Regional High School, Cape May, 544; Shawnee High School, Burlington, 541; Hammonton High School, Atlantic, 541; Cinnaminson High School, Burlington, 539; Woodstown High School, Salem, 535; Seneca High School, Burlington, 529; Haddon Heights Jr./Sr. High School, Camden, 526; Burlington Township High School, Burlington, 525.

SOUTH JERSEY, READING AND WRITING: Haddonfield Memorial High School, Camden, 617; Moorestown High School, Burlington, 617; Cherry Hill High School East, Camden, 615; Lenape High School, Burlington, 589; Florence Township Memorial High School, Burlington, 582; Eastern Regional High School, Camden, 581; Haddon Township High School, Camden, 580; Northern Burlington County Regional High School, Burlington, 580; Gloucester County Institute of Technology, Gloucester, 580; Clearview Regional High School, Gloucester, 570; Ocean City High School, Cape May, 569; Shawnee High School, Burlington, 568; Mainland Regional High School, Atlantic, 564; Cherokee High School, Burlington, 563; Rancocas Valley Regional High School, Burlington, 561; Kingsway Regional High School, Gloucester, 558; Cinnaminson High School, Burlington, 557; Woodstown High School, Salem, 555; Cumberland County Technical Education Center, Cumberland, 554; Haddon Heights Jr./Sr. High School, Camden, 554; Seneca High School, Burlington, 549; West Deptford High School, Gloucester, 549; Lower Cape May Regional High School, Cape May, 548; Cherry Hill High School West, Camden, 545; Hammonton High School, Atlantic, 544.