10 High Schools That Beat The Odds

Rebecca Klein
Updated
NEW YORK - JUNE 24: Bayside High School seniors sit during their June 24, 2011 graduation ceremony held on the St John's University campus in the Queens borough of New York. Nearly 1000 students went through the graduation ceremony. Of the approximately 3,900 students at Bayside, Asian-American students are the largest group, with 46.5% of the student population. 99% of graduating Bayside seniors were accepted to college in 2009. (Photo by Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)

In a country where high-poverty schools typically perform significantly worse than affluent ones, these schools beat the odds.

This week,Newsweek released its first list of the top 500 high schools for low-income students. Working with the research corporation Westat, they determined the rankings based on indicators like how many of a school's students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, graduation rates and scores on state exams. The rankings seek to "identify the public high schools in the U.S. that do the best job of preparing students for college and overcome the obstacles posed by socioeconomic inequality," says the outlet.

Newsweek also put out its annual list of the top high schools in America this week,although that list is based on absolute values, and the list regarding high-poverty schoolsis based on relative values, Newsweek reporter Zach Schonfeld said in an interview with New York's 92nd Street Y.

"The way these lists are different is the absolute list draws on student achievement and college readiness data … the other list, the relative list is similar but adjusts that data based on socioeconomic diversity factors,” explains Schonfeld.

Below are the top 10 schools in Newsweek's list of the best schools for low-income students.Head over to Newsweek to see the full list.

Dekalb School of the Arts

Dekalb School of the Arts in Avondale Estates, Georgia, is the eighth best high school for low-income students in America, by Newsweek's measure. Here, Ford Motor Co's Pamela Alexander, Grammy award winning engineer Phil Tan, recording artist Calvin Richardson and radio consultant Terry Bello attend an event at the school.
Dekalb School of the Arts in Avondale Estates, Georgia, is the eighth best high school for low-income students in America, by Newsweek's measure. Here, Ford Motor Co's Pamela Alexander, Grammy award winning engineer Phil Tan, recording artist Calvin Richardson and radio consultant Terry Bello attend an event at the school.

Bayside High School

Newsweek has ranked Bayside High School in Bayside, New York, the tenth best high school for low-income students in America. In this photo, seniors sit during their 2011 graduation ceremony held on the St John's University campus in New York.
Newsweek has ranked Bayside High School in Bayside, New York, the tenth best high school for low-income students in America. In this photo, seniors sit during their 2011 graduation ceremony held on the St John's University campus in New York.

This article originally appeared on HuffPost.