Idaho bucked a national trend in high school rankings released Tuesday.
Eighteen traditional high schools in Idaho made U.S. News and World Report’s list of the nation’s top high schools. No Idaho charter schools made the cut.
Charter and magnet high schools accounted for nine of the top 10 schools in U.S. News and World Report’s national rankings — and 60 of the nation’s top 100 schools.
No Idaho school received a gold medal: U.S. News and World Report’s top ranking, for the 500 schools scoring highest for college readiness benchmarks.
Four Idaho high schools received silver medals: Boise’s Timberline High School, ranked No. 916 nationally; Sandpoint High School, ranked No. 2,189; Fruitland High School, ranked No. 2,334; and Moscow High School, ranked No. 2,608. It’s the second straight year Timberline has topped U.S. News and World Report’s Idaho rankings.
Fourteen Idaho high schools received bronze medals. The West Ada School District’s Eagle and Mountain View high schools ranked fifth and sixth in the state, respectively. Other bronze medalists were Buhl High School; Emmett High School; Jerome High School; Kellogg High School; Malad Senior High School; Marsh Valley High School; Orofino High School; Payette High School; Preston High School; Priest River Lamanna High School; Shelley Senior High School; and South Fremont High School.
The ratings are based on four criteria:
- A school’s overall student performance is graded against statewide performance.
- Schools are then graded based on at-risk student performance. A school’s Hispanic, black and low-income student population is graded against the same demographic groups statewide.
- Graduation rates are used as a cutoff. Schools must have a 75 percent graduation rate in order to qualify for a medal.
- Advanced Placement test scores are then used to gauge college readiness.
All told, U.S. News and World Report reviewed about 22,000 high schools, and gave gold, silver and bronze awards to about 6,000 schools.
