WASHINGTON — Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, in Fairfax County, took the top spot in a nationwide ranking of high schools for the second year in a row.

The school topped Newsweek’s list of the 500 best high schools in America, released on Wednesday.

Thomas Jefferson, in the Alexandria section of Fairfax County, received a perfect 100 score for college readiness; 100 percent of its students graduate; and 99.8 percent enroll in college.

The school also finished No. 24 in Newsweek’s Beating the Odds rankings, which weigh poverty rates hand-in-hand with student success. It topped Newsweek’s rankings last year and placed No. 3 on the U.S. News & World Report list.

The next-highest area school on the list is Poolesville High, in Maryland’s Montgomery County, which came in at No. 110.