Ranking America’s High Schools Since 1998, The Post’s Jay Mathews has ranked Washington-area public high schools using the Challenge Index, his measure of how effectively a school prepares its students for college. In 2011, the Post expanded its research to high schools across the United States.
The formula is simple: Divide the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or other college-level tests a school gave in 2010 by the number of graduating seniors. While not a measure of the overall quality of the school, the rating can reveal the level of a high school’s commitment to preparing average students for college.
More about The High School Challenge
AP, IB and AICE tests
Graduating seniors
Challenge Index
National Rankings
Get Challenge Index scores for more than 1900 public high schools nationwide.
1. Science/Engineering Magnet
2. Talented and Gifted
3. Corbett Charter
4. BASIS Tucson
5. Stanton College Prep
View National List
D.C. Area Rankings
See Challenge Index scores for more than 170 Washington-area public high schools.
1. H-B Woodlawn
2. Bethesda Chevy Chase
3. Richard Montgomery
4. Poolesville
5. George Mason
View Local List
Inside The High School Challenge
Not just the “A” team
Jay Mathews
Two seemingly similar high schools can have wide gaps in the access they offer students to challenging courses, Jay Mathews writes.
How the Challenge works
More Headlines
At one Md. school, an AP testing boom
District schools | Maryland | Virginia
Other ways to rate high schools
Special print section: Reprints
More Rankings from around the U.S.CATCHING UP SCHOOLS TOP NORTHEAST SCHOOLS TOP SOUTH SCHOOLS
View Catching Up List View Northeast List View South List
1. Columbia Heights 1. City Honors 1. Science/Engineering Magnet
2. William and Carol Ouchi 2. New Explorations into Science, Tech, and Math 2. Talented and Gifted
3. Baldwin High School 3. Connecticut IB Academy 3. Stanton College Prep
4. Jones 4. Sturgis Charter 4. Jefferson County IB
5. NYOS (Not Your Ordinary School) Charter 5. Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic 5. Suncoast Community
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Administrators with questions about their school’s data can
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