Newsweek magazine has ranked the nation’s top 1,500 high schools for 2009, and both of WW-P’s high schools have not only made the list again, but they have both improved according to the magazine’s standards.
High School South ranked at 510, while North ranked at 678 this year. In 2008, South ranked 527, while North ranked 954.
In comparison with similar districts, Princeton’s high school was ranked at 210 this year, while Montgomery did not make the list. Princeton actually dropped in rankings, falling to 210 from 142 in the 2008 list.
According to Newsweek’s website, the list’s authors take the total number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or Cambridge tests given and divide by the number of seniors graduating. All public schools that achieved a ratio of at least 1.000, meaning they had as many tests in 2008 as they had graduates, are put on the list on the Newsweek website. South’s index was 2.134, and North’s was 1.875.
Newsweek also says that it counts only the number of tests given and not how well the students do on the tests because “schools often brag about their high passing rates. However, most high schools kept those rates artificially high by allowing only top students to take the courses,” the website states.
