The 25 best charter schools in the US

Great public schools abound in the US, but for some students the less traditional and often-times smaller educational experience offered by charter schools is a better fit.

Charter schools still operate within public school districts, but typically they don't have to follow all of the regulations other schools do, leaving them open to alternative teaching methods and different programs. These schools usually have limited enrollment and may accept students through an application process or lottery system.

U.S. News & World Report recently released its list of the best high schools in America, gathering data on more than 21,000 public schools across the country. They also separately highlighted the country's top charter schools.

The ranking looked at graduation rates, college readiness, and how well students at each school performed statistically compared to others in their state. The college readiness score (out of a possible 100) measures which schools produce the best college-level achievement for the highest percentages of students, using AP and IB scores as benchmarks. You can read the full breakdown of the methodology here.

For parents and students interested in the charter school experience, here are the top-25 schools to consider in the US - each of which also ranks in the U.S. News' top-100 high schools overall.