Out of more than 500 high schools in North Carolina recently ranked in U.S. News & World Report’s 2021 “Best High Schools” report, Gray Stone Day School came in at No. 24.

It was also ranked No. 820 out of almost 18,000 public schools across the country and No. 164 out of 2,785 charter schools.

Data for the rankings are based on the 2018-2019 school year, meaning it was not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The report ranks public high schools based on six criteria: College readiness (how students performed on AP and IB exams), math and reading proficiency and performance, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth and graduation rate.

“Even with the country shut down because of the pandemic, Gray Stone has still maintained a strong standard of excellence,” Gray Stone Chief Administrative Officer Helen Nance said. “For a small rural school in North Carolina, we are certainly able to compete with schools coming from urban areas. I am very proud of all the resilience and hard work students and teachers have shown.”

The school received an overall score of 95.41 out of 100. According to Gray Stone’s report, 84 percent of students took at least one AP exam while 50 percent passed at least one exam. It had 87 percent proficiency in mathematics and a 95 percent graduation rate.

West Stanly was the highest-rated Stanly County public school, coming in at No. 226 in the state, followed by Stanly Early College (No. 295 in the state) and Albemarle, North Stanly and South Stanly, which were all between Nos. 442-539 in the state.

For more on North Carolina rankings, go to www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/north-carolina.