News
Seven HISD High Schools Make List of Nation’s Best
When Newsweek magazine unveiled its annual list of the country’s best high schools this June, seven HISD schools made the list, and Carnegie Vanguard High School was in the top 100. This year, Newsweek ranked the best 1,537 high schools in the country. The competition included about 27,000 public high schools.
HISD schools that made the list, and their rankings:
- #98 Carnegie Vanguard High School
- #138 Bellaire High School
- #186 Westside High School
- #198 DeBakey High School
- #608 High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA)
- #859 Lamar High School
- #1377 Austin High School
“We consider this another great milestone and we feel privileged to be a part of the report,” said Carnegie Vanguard Principal Ramon Moss. “It’s a great tribute to our entire Carnegie family.”
Newsweek came up with its list of the nation’s best high schools by taking the total number of AP tests, International Baccalaureate tests, and Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school in 2008 divided by the number of graduating seniors.
Bellaire principal Tim Salem said, “We are proud to represent HISD and the Houston community with our school’s college-bound culture of academic achievement.”
According to Newsweek, “AP, IB and Cambridge are important because they give average students a chance to experience the trauma of heavy college reading lists and long, analytical college examinations.” Newsweek does not include Magnet or charter high schools that draw such a high concentration of top students that their average SAT or ACT score significantly exceeds the highest average for regular-enrollment schools. This year schools had to have an average SAT score above 1950 or an average ACT score above 29 to be included on the list. Newsweek states that, “The Challenge Index is designed to honor schools that have done the best job in persuading average students to take college-level courses and tests. It does not work with schools that have no, or almost no, average students.” (Newsweek’s “Public Elites” list names the schools that did not make the list because their average SAT or ACT scores were too high. This year there are 16 of them.) For the complete list, see www.newsweek.com.
