HIGH SCHOOLS OUR REPORT CARD ON THE 1,000 THAT MAKE THE GRADE

摘要

Good news: despite shrunken state coffers, the quality of public schools is by many measures improving. In the decade-plus since Newsweek began ranking the top public high schools, the national graduation rate has increased 4 percent, federal expenditure per student has risen an adjusted $1,400, and the number of Advanced Placement (AP) tests given per school has more than doubled. The gold standard, of course, is college readiness, and the numbers are bright there too: between 1999 and 2009, the proportion of 18-to-24-year-olds enrolled in college rose by 14 percent.Who is leading the charge? This year, our ranking highlights the best 1,000 public high schools in the nation-the ones that have proven to be the most effective in turning out college-ready grads. At these schools, 91 percent were accepted to college, with an average AP score of 3.4 (out of 5)-21 percent above the 2.8 average for public-school students.