Nineteen South Carolina high schools make US News & World Report list of best in the country
December 8, 2008
COLUMBIA, SC – December 8, 2008 – US News & World Report, in its annual ranking of America’s Best High Schools, has rated Charleston County’s Academic Magnet High in ninth place among the magazine’s top 100 gold schools.
The North Charleston school improved from No. 27 last year — the magazine’s first list of top high schools. Academic Magnet High also landed in the No. 2 spot for magnet schools nationwide.
Eighteen other high schools in the state did not make the top 100, but earned a place in the silver or bronze medal categories in a comparison of more than 21,000 public high schools across the country. Silver honors went to the Charleston School of the Arts, Chapin High School in Lexington/Richland District Five, Lexington High in Lexington District One, Mayo High in Darlington County and Riverside High in Greenville County.
Lexington High and the Charleston School of the Arts also earned silver honors in 2007. Mayo High moved up after being ranked as a bronze medalist last year, when a total of 15 Palmetto State schools were recognized by the magazine.
Schools listed in the bronze category for 2008 include:
– Aiken High – Aiken County
– Bethune-Bowman Middle High – Orangeburg District Five
– Broome High – Spartanburg District Three
– Calhoun County High – Calhoun County
– C.E. Murray High – Williamsburg County
– Green Sea Floyds High – Horry County
– Greenville Technical Charter High – Greenville County
– Latta High – Dillon District Three
– Ninety-Six High – Greenwood District 52
– Ridge Spring-Monetta High – Aiken County
– Walhalla Senior High – Oconee County
– Wando High – Charleston County
– Wren High – Anderson District One
Five of these high schools – Bethune-Bowman, Calhoun County, Greenville Technical Charter, Latta and Ninety-Six – made the bronze list last year, also. Wando High was in the silver medal category in
2007.
The magazine and its partner in the rankings project, School Evaluation Services, examined 21,069 public high schools in 48 states. The rankings are based on comparisons of students’ test scores to state averages and their participation in and performance on Advanced Placement tests.
The 100 high schools with the highest college readiness scores were ranked and awarded gold medals, and the next 504 top-performing high schools received silver medals. Bronze medals went to 1,321 schools.
South Carolina ranked 20th nationwide for its number of silver or gold schools as a percentage of its total high schools.
