The school, focusing heavily on math and science education, bested more than 21,000 other public high schools in 48 states for the repeat honor, the publication said Friday.

Known as "TJ" to students and teachers, Thomas Jefferson is a magnet high school drawing students from suburban Washington.

Runners-up included Oxford Academy, Cypress, Calif.; Pacific Collegiate Charter, Santa Cruz, Calif.; High Technology High School, Lincroft, N.J., and Design and Architectural Senior High, Miami, Fla.

Of the 21,069 public high schools examined, 1,925 were recognized for considerably outperforming their state's standards.

California leads the nation this year with 209 high schools that earned recognition, followed by Texas (151 schools), New York (105), Ohio (87), Michigan (74) and Illinois (71).