High Schools in Broward

The Broward County Public School District encompasses 61 high schools serving grades 9-12, offering a diverse educational landscape from large traditional comprehensive schools to specialized technical and alternative academies.

The district's standout performers are its technical colleges, with Atlantic Technical College, McFatter Technical College, and Sheridan Technical College all achieving 100% graduation rates and ranking in the 95th percentile or higher statewide. These schools combine very low student-teacher ratios (around 11:1) with focused career-oriented curricula. Among traditional high schools, Pompano Beach High School leads with a 97th percentile rank and remarkably low chronic absenteeism at 10.7%, while Cypress Bay High School and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School serve large populations (over 3,000 students each) while maintaining graduation rates above 97% and 90th percentile rankings. At the other end, Sunfire High School faces severe challenges with a 1st percentile rank, 15.2% graduation rate, and 96.9% chronic absenteeism, while alternative centers like Whiddon Rodgers Education Center and Dave Thomas Education Center West also struggle with low graduation rates and high absenteeism.

A critical district-wide concern is chronic absenteeism, averaging approximately 46.5%—well above the state average—and strongly linked to lower test scores and graduation rates. Even high-performing schools like Western High School (51.4% absenteeism) and Coral Glades High School (48.6%) exceed state norms. The technical colleges demonstrate that targeted investment in smaller classes and specialized programs can overcome socioeconomic barriers, as they achieve elite results despite moderate free/reduced lunch populations (30-37%). Meanwhile, schools with very low free/reduced lunch rates, such as Coral Springs Charter School (3.36%) and Franklin Academy Pembroke Pines High School (2.85%), perform well but not at the elite level of the technical colleges, suggesting school culture and instructional model are equally important factors in student success.