U.S. News only includes public schools in its annual high schools rankings, but the types of institutions represented and the students who attend those schools are diverse.
Out of the 20,487 eligible schools analyzed and the 6,041 schools awarded a medal, charter and magnet schools top the list for the 2017 national high school rankings. But the selective schools make up only about 16 percent of all medal-winning schools. Traditional public schools have the most representation in all three medal categories: gold, silver and bronze.
To earn a medal, schools must pass a four-step evaluation, which looks at students’ performance on required state tests, their graduation rates and their college readiness. Only 500 schools earn a gold medal. Students at those schools show the highest level of college readiness, based on Advanced Placement participation rates and the proportion of students who do well on those exams.
[Learn more about how U.S. News calculated the Best High Schools rankings.]
Unlike traditional public schools that accept students based on location, charter schools are publicly funded but independently run and have more freedom to decide how coursework is taught. However, the schools must meet the performance conditions determined by their contract or charter or risk closure.
[Consider these different types of public high schools for your teen.]
Charter schools are open to the public, but typically have limited enrollment and may accept students through an application process. Some academic-focused magnet schools also have an application process to attract top talent in a region but tend to draw in students based on a theme such as STEM education — science, technology, engineering and math — or the arts. Others may operate on a lottery system.
U.S. News evaluated schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. South Dakota, which did not give U.S. News permission to use it s AP results in the rankings, is the only state that doesn’t have at least one gold or silver medal school. Maryland has the largest percentage of eligible schools with gold and silver medals. Massachusetts has the largest percentage of gold medal schools.
See the [top public high schools.]
Nationwide, the top-ranked schools are found in a variety of communities and serve many different kinds of students. About 38 percent of all medal-winning schools are in rural areas. Most of the gold medal schools are found in the suburban areas of large cities.
Students in poverty make up at least 25 percent of the total enrollment in about three-fourths of all medal-winning schools. And at more than a third of schools, at least 25 percent of the student body is black and Hispanic.
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U.S. News Data: Who Attends the Best High Schools originally appeared on usnews.com
