America's Best High Schools
For the third year in a row, U.S. News has ranked America's Best High Schools. Based on student scores on statewide tests, Advanced Placement tests, and International Baccalaureate tests, the rankings involve a three-step process that analyzes how schools are educating (1) all of their students, (2) their minority and disadvantaged students, and (3) their college bound students
And the winner is ---Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia with a course load that includes DNA science, neurology, and quantum physics. But that is not all.
Over the course of the school year, students explore social responsibility through projects of their own design, ranging from getting school supplies for students with cerebral palsy in Shanghai to persuading their classmates to use handkerchiefs to reduce paper waste.
Of the 21,786 public high schools examined across the nation, 1,750 were recognized for considerably outperforming their state's standards. In that group, there were 561 schools that also were found to be doing an excellent job of preparing students for college-level coursework. California leads the nation this year with 110 high schools that earned recognition, followed by New York (53 schools), Texas (50 schools), Illinois (37 schools), Florida (24 schools), and Massachusetts (21 schools).
If you would like to delve into this further, go to http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/high-schools/2009/12/09/americas-best-high-schools-gold-medal-list.html
