Summary
Darien High School serves 1,382 students in grades 9–12 in Darien, CT, an affluent suburban community in Fairfield County, and is currently ranked 5th out of 133 Connecticut high schools for the 2025–2026 school year. The school, part of the Darien School District, has placed in the top 10 in Connecticut every year for the past decade, including three stints at #1 (2015–2016, 2017–2018, and 2018–2019).
The academic numbers are striking. On the 11th-grade SAT, 91.4% of Darien students score proficient in English Language Arts and 77.2% in math, compared to state averages of 55.3% and 31.3%. Science proficiency, at 75.8%, is also well above the 50.5% state average. The graduation rate is 98.3% versus 91.2% statewide, and chronic absenteeism is just 4.4%, far below the 16.4% state figure. The school performs well across student subgroups, including strong results for Hispanic students (ranked 3rd of 67) and special education students (ranked 1st of 11 in 2023–2024).
Darien's closest competitor is New Canaan High School, ranked 4th statewide, which edges out Darien in science (83.3% vs. 75.8%), while Greenwich High School leads both in that subject at 87.8%. The contrast with nearby urban schools is stark: Westhill High School, only about four miles away, posts a 33.4% chronic absenteeism rate, while Norwalk High School and Stamford High School show far lower test proficiency. Darien's resource advantages include a 10.7 student-teacher ratio and per-pupil spending of $20,689, both well above most neighboring districts. This combination of high funding, low class sizes, and consistent results shows why Darien remains one of Connecticut's elite public high schools.
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