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My husband went to #98.. And back when I was in high school, #125 (Bellevue High School) was consistently #1. I don't think it's that they changed how they rate, it's just that over time, schools change how they do things so they drop or rise in the rankings. I don't even think much about the schools in our area right now, because the primary schools are decent, and my LO won't be going to high school for 15 years. Either we will have moved by then, or the school will be completely different perhaps. I find it bat-crazy to worry about something happening 15 years in the future....

I want to move back to Maryland.

See also: What type of school will you send your child to (Private)

Wagon Sr. went to #40!

edit: it's Staten Island Tech... and the big shocker is that they're rated above Stuyvesant (#49). Wagon Sr. didn't get admitted to Stuy!

The 2A school I went to ranked #124 in the state (guess not too bad for the huge state of Texas) & #1362 in the nation. I would assume larger schools with more funding would naturally rank higher. The schools (5A) where we live now didn't rank (sadly, not surprising).

Um our state isn't even listed, I guess that is not a good sign! haha

I have mixed feelings about these rankings. Where I went to high school is only one component of my education and while it had its disadvantages, it didn't hinder me. I went on to college, found a job, paid back my loans, got a masters degree, etc. I consider myself to be a contributing member of society.

On the other hand, I want the best for my son, and we're zoned to attend the high school I attended and I am seriously thinking that we'll sell our house, downsize to a condo and move to one of the surrounding areas to give him the chance to attend a top ranked school in our state.

Totally contradictory, I know.

These lists can be informative and misleading at the same time. There are always several Dallas ISD public schools at the top of the list (there are 4 in the top 25), so that might make people think that Dallas has amazing schools.

In actuality, those schools in the top 25 are consistantly high on this list because DISD is the 12th largest public school system in the country, and all 160,000 students in the district have to test into these schools and keep their grades up or they get kicked out back to a "regular" public school

So it's basically public schooling with super-competitite private school type entrance requirements. You take all the brightest and most motivated students and put them all in one building, and they will look amazingly successful, while all the "leftovers" in the regular schools look unsuccessful. The issue I have with this is when parents/community members think that means the teachers in one school are terrific, and the teachers in the "regular" schools are terrible, when a lot of it comes down to student population.

When I was in HS my school was in the top 200 and #1 in the state. Now its not ranked at all, even within the state. I'd still be fine with sending a LO there though if we ever moved back.

oooh...another thing that totally bugs me about this particular report. They define "college readiness" solely by how many students take and pass AP exams! That's insane. There's more to college readiness than just taking and passing AP exams.

At my small rural HS where I grew up, they had AP classes, but the district didn't pay for the exams because they were expensive. So you had to register to take it privately and drive into town and do it at a testing center.

Our counselor would also encourage us to take the CLEP tests for college credit instead, because they used to be half the price. So I CLEPd out of all my first two years of college English and all my freshman math, but on this ranking report, that wouldn't have counted as "college readiness".

BS!

@lemondrop: We have the same issue with the retirees here in Central FL.

My HS wasn't ranked but we had 2 schools in the county on the list in the high 1000's. Our schools aren't total crap, but they aren't great.

@regberadaisy: haven't heard that. I went to science and its #2 in the state. #1 on another listing I read.

Our local private HS is in the top 10 for private HS but we have mixed feelings about sending the girls there.

Wow, I'm surprised to see any schools in AZ in the top five - and there are two! But they look to be private schools. Anyway, my high school ranked #34 in the state and #1,840 in the nation. So I guess not terrible.

ETA: if we have a kid and stay where we are, the high school he/she would attend is #50 in the state, and #2,247 in the nation. Yeesh.

#32 here too!

Um, my school is probably at the bottom of that list... I managed to turn out okay though

The #1 school in my state is pretty close by - our kids aren't in that school district though

my H.S. is ranked #4 in the state and #250 overall -- not too shabby!

@mediagirl: But you have Science and Math in Durham! (That's where DH went to high school, and he LOVED it- I wish I could send our kids there)

This is interesting...

I went to private school so it's not listed.

BUT, the area we just moved to is not even ranked in NY state, according to the US News list. BUT it's #42 in the nation according to Newsweek and #6 in the state. Clearly they're using very different standards...

I'm not surprised public schools in NOVA are very good.