Washington Post Ranks America's High Schools

For a number of years, Jay Mathews, a Washington Post writer, 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 newspaper expanded this research to include high schools across the United States.

The formula involves dividing the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, or other college-level tests a school gave in 2010 by the number of graduating seniors. While it is not a measure of the overall quality of the school, the Post advises that the rating may reveal the level of a high school’s commitment to preparing average students for college.

According to Mr. Mathews, the Challenge Index is designed to identify schools that have done the best job in persuading average students to take college-level courses and tests. Seven percent of the approximately 27,000 U.S. public high schools reached that standard and were placed on the list. This included 66 high schools from New England - 20 from Connecticut, 4 from Maine, 38 from Massachusetts, 1 from New Hampshire, 2 from Rhode Island, and 1 from Vermont.

To access this Washington Post report, please visit:

Washington Post: Ranking America's High Schools 2011